Joint Federal and State VPP Ceremony Held at
Yellowstone National Park
J.D. Danni, the Wyoming OSHA Program Manager, awards a
VPP Merit plaque to Jim McCaleb of Xanterra Parks and Resorts.
Also pictured is Ed Carlson, Wyoming OSHA VPP Manager.
A VPP ceremony was held on October 21, 2004 in Mammoth Hot Springs, Wyoming to
celebrate the efforts of both Yellowstone National Park and its primary
concessionaire, Xanterra Parks and Resorts, for advancing worker safety and
health at the park. This marks the first time concurrent VPP Federal and State
awards have been presented to two employers at one location operating under
split Federal/State OSHA jurisdiction.
The Wyoming Department of Employment, Worker's Safety and Compensation
Division, operates an OSHA-approved State Plan, which includes a VPP program
known as the "Wyoming Cowboy VPP." Wyoming Worker Safety has jurisdiction for
most private sector employment in Wyoming, including Xanterra Parks and
Resorts, a private contractor operating within Yellowstone National Park.
Yellowstone National Park, part of the U.S. Department of the Interior and
whose Federal employees fall under the jurisdiction of Federal OSHA, is part of
Federal OSHA’s VPP program.
The park and the concessionaire were respectively designated as VPP Merit
participants by Federal OSHA and by Wyoming Worker Safety. Federal VPP Merit
participants meet safety and health requirements that exceed minimum OSHA
standards. Wyoming OSHA's Cowboy VPP Merit participants meet requirements that
exceed Wyoming State standards. State Plan States like Wyoming have standards
which are identical to or "at least as effective as" Federal OSHA standards.
Xanterra Parks and Resorts was approved for Cowboy VPP Merit status on July 15,
2004, by Wyoming Worker Safety. The company provides lodging, campground,
restaurant and other services to the park and employs approximately 200
off-season and 2,500 in-season employees.
"It is a distinct pleasure to recognize Xanterra Parks and Resorts as Wyoming’s
fifth Cowboy VPP site," said J.D. Danni, Wyoming OSHA Program Manager. "Xanterra
operates a variety of lodging and recreational activities in Yellowstone,
and the quality and sophistication of their programs are outstanding. The
enthusiasm for health and safety shown by their staff and employees is
impressive, and made all the more so because of the multi-cultural and
multi-national make-up of their workforce."
Wyoming Governor Dave Freudenthal congratulated Xanterra as "the first parks
and resorts management business, not only in Wyoming but in the nation, to
achieve Merit status."
Yellowstone National Park was approved for VPP Merit status on August 25, 2004,
by OSHA Assistant Secretary John Henshaw and became the first National Park to
enter VPP.
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