Topline
The Trump administration is repeating its 2018 shutdown tactics, leaving national parks partially open with many fewer staff and services—which national park advocacy groups say is “not just irresponsible, but dangerous.”
Key Facts
National parks will remain partially open during the government shutdown that began Wednesday, according to an Interior Department contingency plan posted Tuesday evening.
The National Park Service expects to furlough 9,296 employees—roughly two- thirds of staff—during the lapse in funding, per the plan.
Open-air sites will remain open to the public, but buildings that require staffing, such as visitor centers, will be closed.
Basic visitor services such as “restrooms and sanitation, trash collection, road maintenance, campground operations, law enforcement and emergency operations, and staffing entrance gates” will continue, according to the plan, which notes, “as a general rule, if a facility or area is locked or secured during non-business hours (buildings, gated parking lots, etc.) it should be locked or secured for the duration of the shutdown.”
What Can National Park Visitors Expect During The Shutdown?
It depends how long the shutdown lasts. The most recent and longest-ever government shutdown happened during the first Trump administration, stretching 35 days from December 2018 to January 2019. During that funding lapse, the White House took the same approach, leaving national parks partially open using visitor fees intended for other purposes. But with fewer staff and services, some national parks and cultural sites were vandalized—including century-old Joshua trees chopped down in California’s Joshua Tree National Park—and there were many reports of uncollected trash and unmaintained public restrooms at national parks across the country. Even before this shutdown, the National Park Service was strained, having lost at least 24% of its permanent staff since January due to budget cuts by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). Across the country, parks have already curtailed ranger programs and closed visitor centers this year, according to the National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA), a nonpartisan, membership-based National Parks advocacy organization.
Big Number
$80 million. That’s how much national park gateway communities stand to lose per day in visitor spending, while national parks themselves will lose as much as $1 million per day in fee revenue, according to the NPCA.
Is It Better To Close National Parks During A Government Shutdown?
That’s an argument many national park advocates have made. Last week, as the shutdown threat loomed, 40 former national park superintendents wrote an open letter to U.S. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, urging him to close national parks instead of having them remain partially open. “Past shutdowns in which gates remained open with limited staff have hurt our parks: Iconic symbols cut down and vandalized, trash piled up, habitats destroyed, and visitor safety jeopardized,” they wrote. “Leaving parks even partially open to the public during a shutdown with minimal—or no—park staffing is reckless and puts both visitors and park resources at risk.” The shutdown puts “our national parks and visitors at risk, effectively directing staff to open park gates and walk away,” Theresa Pierno, president and CEO for NPCA, said in a statement. “Visitors may enter, but very few staff will be there to protect the parks or the people inside. It’s not just irresponsible, it’s dangerous.”
What We Don’t Know
Whether some states will provide funding to keep some marquee national parks open if the shutdown stretches on and federal funding runs out. During the 2013 and 2018 shutdowns, Republican governors of Arizona provided funds to keep Grand Canyon National Park operational. But the state’s Democratic governor, Katie Hobbs, said the state will not fund the park this time around, citing Trump administration policies that have cut health care and raised taxes. “As a result, the state of Arizona cannot afford to keep the state’s national parks open,” Hobbs’ spokesperson said in a statement.