Editor's note: This updates with background on the status of national parks in case of a government shutdown.

With differences over President Trump's desired wall along the U.S.-Mexico border driving the government to a shutdown at midnight, legislation of interest to the National Park Service was in limbo Friday.

Key business being held up included the Senate's confirmation of David Vela as director of the National Park Service. Vela, currently superintendent of Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming, pretty much sailed through his confirmation hearing with the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee last month. However, Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon was hesitant to endorse Vela, saying he wanted more specifics on how the nominee would change what the senator viewed as lackluster regard for ethical behavior in the Park Service.

If confirmed, Vela would become the first Latino to rise to the directorship of the Park Service. He was nominated for the director's job on August 31. Before becoming superintendent at Grand Teton in 2014, Vela worked in Washington, D.C., as the Park Service's associate director for Workforce, Relevancy and Inclusion. He oversaw NPS programs including Human Resources, Learning and Development, Equal Opportunity, Youth, and the Office of Relevancy, Diversity & Inclusion. Prior to that, he was director of the agency's Southeast Region based in Atlanta.

Vela, should the Senate confirm him, will take the reins of an agency that has been struggling with a staggering deferred maintenance backlog and low morale among a workforce that has grappled with sexual harassment issues, low pay, work-life balance inequity, concerns over leadership, and concerns around strategic management, according to the 2017 Best Places To Work survey.

Another key issue before Congress is legislation to make significant inroads to the roughly $12 billion backlog in maintenance across the National Park System. Visitor and employee safety, transportation, access, and even historic structures all are being jeopardized by the backlog that reaches into nearly every corner, forest, and beach of the park system. Failure to pass the Restore Our Parks Act, which would provide up to $6.5 billion over five years to pay for maintenance, would force its sponsors to start over in the new Congress.

Another apparent lost cause this session was reauthorization of the Land and Water Conservation Fund, which is designed to funnel hundreds of millions of dollars into parks and public lands across the country. The LWCF long has been batted about like a badminton shuttlecock by proponents who cite its role in preserving lands and providing for recreation, and opponents who say state and local land managers can do a better job than federal authorities.

Created by Congress in 1964, the LWCF was designed to receive $900 million a year from mineral royalties generated by oil and gas exploration on the country's Outer Continental Shelf. The fund expired on September 30 when Congress failed to reauthorize it. While there was strong support in both chambers to reauthorize the program, it never came up for action.

Most parks would remain open if the government shuts down, though with visitor centers closed and interpretive programs canceled. Away from the landscape parks, the Yellowstones, Grand Canyons, Glaciers and Shenandoahs, parks such as Ford's Theater, Sagamore Hill National Historic Site, Independence Hall, and others that revolve largely around facilities will be closed. 

“Visitors from around the world who have planned their trips to our national parks months in advance now face the possibility of disruption and disappointment when they arrive at parks only to find closed visitor centers, locked restrooms and unplowed roads," said Theresa Pierno, president and CEO of the National Parks Conservation Association. "Local businesses and park concessioners also face the possibility of having to re-route passengers to other tours or cancel excursions altogether, threatening $18 million in economic activity that our national parks support on average each day during the month of December.

“Rather than insisting on funding a wall that would threaten families, wildlife and public lands on our border, President Trump should be working with Congress to ensure that border security efforts leave our parks and communities intact.”