National Parks to Close Entrances and Furlough Rangers in the Event of Government Shutdown

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If Congress fails to reach a budget agreement by this weekend, access to national parks will be restricted and thousands of park rangers will be placed on leave, according to an announcement from the Department of the Interior on Friday.

This represents a departure from the policy enacted five years ago under the Trump administration, which faced criticism from the Government Accountability Office for illegally keeping some parks open.

Beginning next Monday, a majority of the more than 420 national park units will be inaccessible to the public, Interior officials have stated. However, state officials in Arizona and Utah have committed to maintaining operations at some of the nation’s most iconic parks, such as the Grand Canyon and Zion, through state funding.

Accessibility to other national parks will be influenced by various factors, including the park’s size and location. Generally speaking, parks that are typically closed or locked outside of regular business hours will remain so, according to Interior Department officials. While some locations like the National Mall will stay open, there will be no assurance of the availability of restrooms or waste management services.

Approximately 13,000 of the 19,000 National Park Service employees are expected to be placed on leave, according to an online contingency plan released by the agency on Friday.

The Interior Department has issued a statement encouraging the public to avoid visiting these sites during the lapse in federal funding, citing the need to protect both natural and cultural resources as well as the safety of visitors.

State, tribal, or local governments may engage in non-reimbursable agreements with the director of the National Park Service for donations to support park functions, the Department added.

The National Parks Conservation Association, a nonprofit organization, has expressed that although it doesn’t oppose such agreements, the insufficient staffing and resources during a shutdown can have dire consequences. For example, during a 35-day shutdown in late 2018 and early 2019, facilities at Joshua Tree National Park faced issues like overflowing trash cans and portable toilets, and the environment was damaged by off-road driving.

Senator John Barrasso, a Republican from Wyoming, called upon Interior Secretary Deb Haaland to maintain park operations by using previously collected fees. A similar strategy was employed by the Trump administration in 2018 and 2019, but it was later deemed in violation of appropriations laws by the congressional watchdog.

Both Democratic Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs and Republican Utah Governor Spencer Cox plan to allocate state funds to keep major parks like the Grand Canyon and Zion open. They emphasized the economic importance of these parks to their states and local communities reliant on tourism.

During a government shutdown, national parks could see a reduction of nearly one million daily visitors, with gateway communities potentially losing up to $70 million, according to the National Parks Conservation Association.

Funding from the Arizona Lottery will be used to maintain basic operations at the Grand Canyon, Hobbs stated. During the 35-day shutdown, Arizona spent approximately $64,000 a week on essential services such as restroom cleaning, waste removal, and snow plowing at the Grand Canyon.

While hotels and restaurants will remain operational, those with permits for backcountry hiking or rafting on the Colorado River will still have access, but no new permits will be granted, according to Grand Canyon spokesperson Joëlle Baird.

Governors of other states, including Colorado and South Dakota, have also made plans or indicated intentions to keep their respective parks open during a potential shutdown, albeit with limited staffing and restricted amenities.

However, not all states are following suit. Governors of states like Washington and California have stated that they have no plans to allocate additional funding or staffing to maintain their national parks in the event of a shutdown.

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Contributors to this report include Big Big News correspondents Ed Komenda in Olympia, Washington; Amy Beth Hanson in Helena, Montana; Matthew Brown in Billings, Montana; Jesse Bedayn in Denver; Tran Nguyen in Sacramento; Matthew Daly in Washington; and Summer Ballentine in Columbia, Missouri.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) about Government Shutdown

More about Government Shutdown

• Department of the Interior Official Statement
• Government Accountability Office Report on Previous Shutdown
• National Parks Conservation Association on Economic Impact
• Arizona Governor’s Office on State Funding for Grand Canyon
• Utah Governor’s Office on State Funding for Zion
• Congressional Budget Office on Government Shutdowns
• National Park Service Contingency Plan
• Senator John Barrasso’s Letter to Interior Secretary
• Economic Benefits of National Parks to Local Communities