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The U.S. government officially shut down at midnight after Congress failed to reach a funding deal, and the National Park Service intends to keep national parks open with skeletal staffing during the shutdown. A memo obtained by the New York Times, journalist Wes Siler, and E&E News on Tuesday evening indicated that the Park Service will drop from 15,000 to just 3,000 employees covering more than 400 National Park Service units across 85 million acres of national public lands.
An updated “National Park Service Contingency Plan” posted late Tuesday evening states that “park roads, lookouts, trails and open-air memorials will generally remain accessible to visitors” during the shutdown. The plan also states that park entrance fees can provide minimal visitor services during the shutdown, which the Government Accountability Office has already said is a clear violation of the Antideficiency Act.
The decision to keep parks open comes despite pleas from former park staff to close parks for the safety of visitors and protection of natural and cultural resources. The Trump administration also kept parks open during the government shutdown in 2018, a disastrous decision that resulted in overflowing toilets, piles of trash and human waste, and damage to sensitive ecosystems.
“These shutdown plans show just how little respect Interior Secretary Doug Burgum has for America’s public lands. America’s crown jewels, our national parks, will be unprotected and at risk,” said Center for Western Priorities Executive Director Jennifer Rokala.
Politico also reports that the Bureau of Land Management intends to designate employees who process oil and gas drilling permits as essential workers, keeping them on the job during a government shutdown despite a lack of funding.
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This awful situation is President Trump’s dream for America’s public lands: exploit what you can and trash the rest. America’s public lands and the people who care for them deserve better.”
