|
Despite pleas from federal and local government leaders, park service employees, and public health officials to close parks across the country, Grand Canyon National Park in Arizona remains open, exposing visitors and park service employees to risk for contracting the coronavirus.
Chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee, Raúl Grijalva, has criticized Interior Secretary David Bernhardt's decision to allow parks to remain open, stating, "For someone in Secretary Bernhardt’s position, it is cavalier at best and profoundly dangerous at worst to encourage public lands visits without encouraging all visitors to avoid crowding of high-traffic areas and popular parks. He should revise his recommendations to better reflect the advice of public health experts."
Park service employees at Grand Canyon National Park are anxious about the park remaining open when it is one of the most popular park service destinations and a natural place for drawing crowds. Employees and local officials are wondering why the Interior Department has left the park open despite calls from park leaders and local elected officials for its closure.
|
Any gathering is bad, and people who are being forced to work, it's really bad. If they [the National Park Service and Department of the Interior] don't take the appropriate action, then they're not serving, not only the employees, but the public."
