How will a government shutdown affect national parks?
Rachel Schilke
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National parks across the United States could be affected by an impending federal government shutdown on Sunday morning, potentially costing the National Park Service and local towns millions of dollars daily.
If Congress fails to pass appropriations bills before funding runs out on Sept. 30, the shutdown will close all 425 national parks, as they are federally managed. The park service is one of several agencies and programs affected by the federal budget, or lack of one.
GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN: WHAT WILL BE OPEN AND WHAT WILL BE CLOSED
All monuments, historic houses, battlefields, and other units of the park system will close on Oct. 1 if a spending bill is not passed. The National Parks Conservation Association estimates that for every day of a shutdown this October, the park service would lose as much as $1 million per day in lost fee revenue.
National parks could also see a loss of almost 1 million visitors and an economic loss in tourist communities of nearly $70 million per day throughout October. Park concessioners and partners, as well as thousands of park staff, may experience losses in revenue and delays in paychecks.
Amenities at the national parks, such as visitor centers, campgrounds, research centers, and museums, will be forced to close due to the government shutdown, as well.
Closing national parks could also affect social media campaigns like Fat Bear Week, an annual celebration held Oct. 4 through Oct. 10 of bears that put on weight to prepare for hibernation in Alaska. Bears in Katmai National Park are displayed on the Fat Bear Week website, where people can vote and crown the largest and best bear.
However, with a government shutdown, many agencies will not be permitted to update social media pages or websites, so the viral park promotion of celebrations like Fat Bear Week could be disrupted. Last year’s Fat Bear Week post on Twitter, now X, was viewed over 943,000 times, retweeted more than 2,000 times, and has more than 11,000 comments.
https://twitter.com/NatlParkService/status/1704943602726535247
If a government shutdown occurs, it will be the fourth time in a decade. Business owners and workers told the New York Times that they have begun to fear recurring shutdowns in the same manner as natural disasters, such as floods, wildfires, and hurricanes.
The shutdown threat in part is due to House Republicans seeking to pass legislation that goes against the debt ceiling compromise between House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) and President Joe Biden. One proposal in the House GOP’s appropriations bills includes a cut of $433 million to the park service’s budget.
“This drastic proposed reduction could mean hundreds if not thousands fewer staff to ensure visitor experience and safety and fewer resources to protect these beloved sites,” the NPCA said in a release.
“Our parks also suffer from more than $22 billion in repair needs due to lack of funding,” it added. “A shutdown would worsen this situation as limited park staff are unable to perform the daily maintenance that can prevent the backlog of maintenance needs from growing.”
Parks were shuttered temporarily under former President Barack Obama in 2013 but were largely left open under the Trump administration during a 35-day shutdown from December 2018 to January 2019. However, the parks were left significantly understaffed under former President Donald Trump.
During the 2013 shutdown, nearly 86% of park service staff (or over 21,300 people) were furloughed. Some essential staff, such as law enforcement, disaster assistance, and emergency medical care members, remained on site.
NPCA estimated that during the 2018-2019 shutdown, the park service lost $400,000 per day from missed entrance revenue. An average day in January 2019 would bring in about $20 million in nearby communities from arriving tourists.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
This time around, the NPCA is warning visitors that the national parks will have few, if any, staff members on site to protect visitors and park resources.
“If a shutdown occurs, we need park lovers everywhere to help protect our parks by rescheduling their trips and not putting any extra pressure on our most treasured places during this time,” the NPCA said.