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Updated: National Parks Just Hours Away From Closing

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Editor's note: This updates with decision from the National Park Service headquarters in Washington that the Blue Ridge Parkway would remain open, though facilities and campgrounds along it would be closed in the event of a government shutdown, adds comments from the Coalition of National Park Service Retirees.

With Congress at odds over whether to pass a Continuing Resolution to keep the federal government in business, National Park Service and concessions staff were preparing Monday for the possible closure of the National Park System.

Exactly what "closure" means, though, differs across the park system.

In general, under guidelines released last week by the Interior Department, day users in the parks would be told to immediately leave the parks, while those staying in campgrounds or lodges would have 48 hours to leave.

However, the Natchez Trace Parkway will remain open along its 444 miles between Natchez, Mississippi, and Nashville, Tennessee. But park visitor centers, campgrounds, and interpretive pullouts would be closed.

Additionally, the Blue Ridge Parkway between Shenandoah National Park in Virginia and Great Smoky Mountains National Park in North Carolina would be remain open to traffic, though Parkway facilities, campgrounds and overlooks would be closed to traffic.

At Death Valley National Park in California and Nevada, California 190 would remain open across the park, as would the road to Scotty's Castle, as it's a through-road in the park. But most other roads and park facilities would be closed, said Abby Wines, the park's acting public information officer.

The Furnace Creek Ranch and Furnace Creek Inn both would remain open, as they sit on private property, as does the Panamint Springs Resort, she said. The facilities at Stovepipe Wells are owned by the Park Service, and so would be closed in the event of a government shutdown, said Ms. Wines.

At Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming, while the main highway through the park -- U.S. 89/26/191 -- would remain open between the south entrance 4 miles north of Jackson and the east entrance 2 miles east of Moran Junction, all other park roads would be closed.

What was uncertain Monday, though, was the fate of any backcountry travelers in the parks.

"At this point in the season, we have limited backcountry use, so that's not expected to be a significant challenge," said Grand Teton spokeswoman Jenny Anzelmo-Sarles. She didn't know, however, whether rangers would head into the backcountry to escort out any permitted backcountry travelers.

Officials with the Appalachian National Scenic Trail could not immediately be reached to explain what they might do with thru-hikers on the trail. In Alaska, the farflung nature of the parks in that state made it impossible to shutter all the Park Service landscape, agency officials said.

"There’s a recognition, with millions of acres up there and more access points than we could count, that it’s not a hard closure," Park Service spokesman Mike Litterest said from the agency's Washington, D.C., headquarters.

On the National Mall in Washington, the various national memorials would be closed to visitors, he said, though access to the sprawling greenway would remain open.

National seashores, said Mr. Litterest, also would lower their gates across entry points.

Across the park system, law enforcement rangers were expected to remain on duty and patrol the roads. However, even that could be a challenge in parks such as Death Valley, where there are just nine law enforcement rangers for the park's 3.3 million acres.

Lodging concessionaires were watching the situation, but not ready to say how they would handle a shutdown that could require thousands of guests and concessions employees to leave the parks.

"We are still hopeful the situation will be resolved, and we are monitoring it closely. The national parks at which Delaware North Companies Parks & Resorts operates remain fully open today," company spokesman Glen White told the Traveler in an email. "In the event of closures, we will provide more information regarding our plans."

Officials with the Coalition of National Park Service Retirees decried the possible government shutdown, condemning the "partisan politics currently risking a government shutdown, and jeopardizing the livelihood of nearly one million public servants, including thouands of National Park Service employees."

“The term 'non-essential' has been connected to National Park Service employees in many national news stories lately in the run-up to the government shutdown," said Coalition spokeswoman Joan Anzelmo. "Therefore, we want to take this opportunity to remind every American that if the potential shutdown occurs, it will require furloughing people who fight explosive wildfires, save lives in outdoor accidents, rescue injured climbers on mountain peaks, search for lost children, respond to terrorist threats, protect U.S. borders, and rush into places devastated by hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes, fires and floods to help their fellow man. NPS does this vital work and so much more day in and day out, year-round."

The closure of the park system would throw more than 21,000 employees out of work, and cost gateway communities as much as $30 million a day in lost revenues, according to estimates from the National Parks Conservation Association.

Across the country, a government shutdown would interrupt, if not cancel, vacations, and halt hunting in national preserves, while agencies like the Park Service would spend millions of dollars, collectively, to wind down and shutter operations.

"The exercise federal agencies must go through, first to gear up for a shutdown – and the costs to actually shut agencies and facilities down is estimated at more than one billion dollars," the retirees coalition said. "Then there is the gearing back up to restore the services and facilities to operational levels. This is a huge waste of taxpayer money and staff time."

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Comments

I assume that USFS land will remain open.


Actually, Indegent care at a hospital for someone without healthcare costs us all money when they go. Thus charging those of us with insurance more to cover those that do not. The new ACA forces those that do not have insurance to buy insurance or take the risk away from my policy. Subsidizing some will help those that need it to get at least a basic policy. Medical bankrupcy can affect us as well. Many bankrupcies are not concidered medical because they shifted it to credit card debt. This can lead to forclosures that can also affect my property value.


This wouldn't even be a topic on a NPS forum if the domestic terrorists of the right wing actually tried to help people and follow their oaths. Shutting down the government in a petulant way to appeal the very clear last election is not only nihilistic and childish, but downright malignant.

Now, if y'all will forgive me for my 'selfishness', I'm going to go pick up my NPS wife from work, where she is working late to get done as much as possible before she is forbidden to do her job.

She and thousands of others chose public service as a career path. Not to suck at the public trough, as is said, but because they believe in the mission of the NPS.

Selfish? How about the domestic terrorists in the right wing of Congress who will not only send the public employees like my wife home without a paycheck, but who will continue to collect their own unearned paychecks in the meantime!


It does seem funny that the highway will remain open in Smoky Mtn but the overlook would be closed. Seems like I ought to be able to pull over and take a picture.


Actually, Indegent care at a hospital for someone without healthcare costs us all money when they go.

Yes, but the "indegent" won't be paying under the new system. 60+% will be getting subsidized. Are 60% indegent or are most of them looking for a handout?


Selfish? How about the domestic terrorists in the right wing of Congress who will not only send the public employees like my wife home without a paycheck, but who will continue to collect their own unearned paychecks in the meantime!

Sorry Rick but your democratic friends are collecting the same paychecks.

Oh - and am still waiting for that "racist" documentation.


Do your own damn research, not that you really care. Start by doing a Google Image Search with the argument 'tea party racist' and read the signs at the rallys.


BTW, if we want to talk about big numbers. The total cost of the F35 project is expected to be $1.5 T over its life. There's plenty waste in Washington to go around. Shutting down the government because you lost at the polls sure doesn't seem like the way to go about fixing things though.


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