Ongoing Staffing Crisis and Looming Government Shutdown Create More Risks to National Parks, Visitors and Communities Nationwide

Washington, DC – With Congress still at an impasse on passing a spending bill that includes funding for the Department of the Interior, our national parks face an increasingly difficult situation. If lawmakers fail to reach a funding deal by October 1, a government shutdown could force all 433 park sites across the country to close or partially close their gates or facilities. This would disrupt plans for millions of visitors and threaten local economies that depend on park tourism.

Compounding this shutdown threat is an ongoing staffing crisis. Since January, the National Park Service has lost at least 24% of its permanent staff. Across the country, parks are cutting ranger programs, closing visitor centers, and falling behind on critical maintenance and research because there just aren’t enough people left to do the job. Park staff are already struggling to keep parks up and running, and a government shutdown would make a bad situation even worse.

A shutdown would threaten to turn away nearly a million park visitors every day. Gateway communities could lose as much as $77 million every day parks are closed in October. And parks would stand to lose as much as a million dollars in fee revenue daily. Thousands of park staff could soon be put in the difficult position of not knowing when their next paycheck will arrive, while park businesses and partners face the threat of losses from canceled vacations.

The Park Service’s 2024 contingency plan called for most national park sites to close entirely, cutting off access to visitor centers, campgrounds, museums, ranger programs and more. But during the last 35-day shutdown under the Trump administration, from December 2015-January 2016, some parks were left partially open using visitor fees intended for other purposes, with only a skeleton crew of staff to protect them. This decision resulted in vandalism, overflowing trash, damaged cultural sites and even harm to Joshua trees. It remains unclear what contingency plan the Trump administration will follow this time if a shutdown occurs.

To ensure parks can remain open, safe and protected, Congress must act immediately to pass a continuing resolution that invests in our parks and surrounding communities. And moving forward, it’s essential they pass a funding bill for the next fiscal year that rejects any cuts to the Park Service’s budget. In July, the Senate Appropriations Committee passed a bipartisan funding bill that holds funding steady for the operation of the National Park System, rejecting dramatic cuts proposed by both the Trump administration and House of Representatives. The bill also includes key provisions to hire urgently needed Park Service staff, helping restore the agency’s capacity to protect our parks. The Senate’s funding bill is the best path forward for our national parks and the people who steward them.

Statement by Theresa Pierno, President and CEO for National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA):

“It’s unthinkable that we’re once again staring down a government shutdown. But this time, the stakes are even higher. Our national parks are already in crisis. A shutdown would furlough thousands of staff, drain millions in revenue from communities that rely on park tourism, jeopardize the protection of historic and natural resources, and upend plans for countless visitors.

“The past nine months have been devastating for national parks. Mass terminations, forced resignations and retirements, lease cancellations, hiring freezes, withheld grants and travel bans have pushed an already overwhelmed Park Service to the brink. Parks are cutting hours, closing visitor centers and struggling to respond to emergencies, simply because they don’t have enough staff. A shutdown now would leave our national parks and communities even more vulnerable.

“During the last shutdown under the Trump administration, from December 2018 – January 2019, many of our national parks were left ungated and largely unsupervised, with only skeleton crews in place. Americans watched helplessly as Joshua Trees were cut down, park buildings were vandalized, prehistoric petroglyphs were defaced, trash overflowed leading to wildlife impacts, and human waste piled up. Visitor safety and irreplaceable natural and cultural resources were put at serious risk. We cannot allow this to happen again.

“National parks are meant to have the highest level of conservation protection, and that doesn’t change because the government shuts down. If Congress fails to do its job and fund the government, parks may have no choice but to close their gates to safeguard our most cherished places and keep visitors safe.

“The clock is running out. Members of Congress must come together now to keep the government open and our national parks staffed and protected.”

###

About the National Parks Conservation Association: Since 1919, the nonpartisan National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA) has been the leading voice in safeguarding our national parks. NPCA and its more than 1.6 million members and supporters work together to protect and preserve our nation’s most iconic and inspirational places for future generations. For more information, visit www.npca.org