Government Shutdown Closes National Parks
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TAKE ACTION: Tell your Senators/Representative to re-open national parks and to fund them adequately.
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PARK STORIES
See how the shutdown is affecting our national parks
-- and the people who rely on them.
PARK FUNDING IN THE NEWS
Government must preserve national parks,
Todd Davidson, The Hill, September 19, 2013
Beauty and the Beasts,
Nicholas Kristof, The New York Times, August 31, 2013
Sequestration May Be Worsening Bear Problem at Wisconsin Park,
Huffingtonpost.com, July 16, 2013
Sequester stalls Mall cleanup,
Fort Wayne JournalGazette.net, July 10, 2013
Parkway feels sting of sequester budget cuts,
Asheville Citizen-Times.com, July 7, 2013
Federal cuts continue to limit park visitors' campground options,
Knoxville WBIR.com, July 6, 2013
Cuts lead to longer lines at Grand Canyon, fewer rangers,
Arizona AZCentral.com, June 16, 2013
VIDEO
CLOSED: Shutdown Hits National Parks
Update:
The federal government is officially shut down and all 401 National Park System sites remain closed. More than 21,000 National Park Service employees have been furloughed, as many as 750,000 visitors will be turned away daily, and local gateway communities could lose as much as $30 million per day the national parks are closed.
Whether it’s because of a senseless government shutdown or a damaging set of budget cuts, national parks and the people who enjoy and depend on them continue to suffer from a failed budget process. After hundreds of millions of dollars in budget cuts to national parks the last few years, we have two questions for Washington—when are you going to reopen the parks, and what will you do to repair the damage this budget process has already done? Our national parks should be open, and funding should be restored to provide visitors with safe and inspiring experiences.
Concerned citizens can take action on NPCA’s website and continue using the Capitol Switchboard at 202.224.3121 to speak directly with their representatives’ offices.
Ongoing Shutdown Coverage from NPCA’s Park Advocate Blog:
- FAQ: How Is the Government Shutdown Affecting National Parks?
- Emotional and Financial Toll of Government Shutdown Hits Home for National Park Service Personnel
- New Photos and Interactive Map Document Shutdown Effects on National Parks
- NPCA Acting President Makes Statement on Government Shutdown
The National Park Service (NPS) has been crippled by compounded budget cuts over recent months and years. The budget to operate our national parks, in today's dollars, is already 13 percent less than it was three years ago, a loss of $315 million. In the busy summer tourist season, national parks operated with approximately 1,900 less staff due to the more than $180 million cut in 2013.
This cut forced our national park superintendents to delay the opening of parks or park roads; close visitor centers, picnic areas, and campgrounds; decrease the number of rangers to protect and maintain parks; and limit the number of educational programs. NPCA’s infographic and fact sheet highlight the impact of the recent sequester — across-the-board budget cuts — to parks across the country.
These budget cuts cannot continue! There are BILLIONS of reasons to protect national parks, including the more than $30 billion in economic activity each year our parks return to the economy. Among the billions of other reasons:
Experience. Memories. History. For many, visits to national park units are the experience of a lifetime. The National Park Service oversees some of the most hallowed and historically important areas in the United States, including Civil War battlefields, the Lincoln Memorial, the Statue of Liberty, Revolutionary War sites, the Tuskegee Airmen National Historic Site, and hundreds more.
National, Bipartisan Support. According to a recent poll, 9 out of 10 likely voters — Republicans, Democrats, and Independents — agree that funding for our national parks should be held stable or increased. The recent budget cuts impacting parks is why nearly 300 businesses wrote Congress and the President in early 2013 expressing their concern. It is also why, in the summer of 2013, both the National Association of Counties (NACo) and the U.S. Conference of Mayors passed resolutions in support of park funding.
Jobs. Annually, the National Park Service employs over 20,000 people and oversees 221,000 volunteers who contribute about 6.4 million hours. However, this is just a fraction of the jobs that national parks support. In 2011, national parks generated 252,000 private-sector jobs nationwide. NPCA’s 2011 Made in America Report outlines these statistics and more.
Economic Generator. Annually, our national parks attract nearly 300 million visitors and support more than $30 billion in private-sector spending, generating $10 in economic activity for every federal dollar invested. For more information on the economic benefits to local communities, see the report on Economic Benefits to Local Communities from National Park Visitation and Payroll, by Michigan State University.
Education. In 2012, over 800,000 five to 13 year olds became Junior Rangers, joining over 220,000 WebRangers in promising to protect parks, learn about parks, and share their own ranger story with friends and family. Additionally, thousands of kids have earned a Junior Ranger badge for the Let’s Move Outside campaign, part of First Lady Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move Initiative.
Tourism. Not only have nine out of ten Americans visited a national park, but one in five international visitors visits a park service unit during their stay in the United States. Forbes Magazine named four National Park Service units on their list of the top 10 U.S. tourist destinations: Golden Gate National Recreation Area (California), the National Mall and Memorial Parks (Washington, D.C.), Faneuil Hall (Massachusetts), and the Great Smoky Mountains National Park (North Carolina and Tennessee).
There are so many more reasons to invest in our national treasures. Share your reason and read other reasons at myparkstory.org.
