Yosemite National Park remains open during the government shutdown, but many services are limited, including the closure of visitor centers.
The United States government shutdown at midnight on Oct. 1 because members of Congress could not agree on the terms of a funding bill to continue operations. The fiscal year begins on Oct. 1.
The shutdown comes on the 135th anniversary of the founding of Yosemite, the third national park formed in America.
The Yosemite Mariposa Tourism Bureau sent out information this week outlining everything they knew early on in the shutdown.
• Park gates are open but unstaffed. Entry fees are not being collected.
• Food, lodging and other services remain available through Yosemite Hospitality.
• Campgrounds remain open, with reservations through Recreation.gov
• Roads, trails and restrooms are accessible.
• Trash collection remains active.
• Emergency and maintenance services continue at a reduced level.
Jonathan Farrington, executive director of the bureau, said they are working on other aspects, as well.
For one, they are working on getting a dumpster put in place at the visitors center in Mariposa. They are also giving trash bags and gloves for people to take into the park.
Tash service remains in effect in Yosemite, Farrington said, but pfficials want to make sure visitors “have the least amount of impact.” They are providing trash bags and gloves to local hotels so they can give them to people visiting the park.
“Visitors are strongly encouraged to plan ahead, respect posted closures and practice Leave No Trace principles,” according to a press release from the tourism bureau.
Farrington also said the NPS staff, which is normally on duty at the visitors center in Mariposa, will not be working during the shutdown. Local personnel are there and he encourages anyone going to the park to stop and get information, including the latest updates as well as maps.
Visit Yosemite Madera County sent out a mass email this week saying the park was open. Aramark, the concessions operator at Yosemite, remains on the job.
Aramark confirmed that is the case. Chelsie Layman, director of communications for Yosemite Hospitality, a division of Aramark, issued the following statement:
“Yosemite Hospitality’s operations and guest services within Yosemite National Park will remain open during the government shutdown. This includes all lodging, dining and booked activities. If guests have a reservation for lodging at The Ahwahnee, Yosemite Valley Lodge, Curry Village or Housekeeping Camp, their reservation will remain unchanged.”
The National Park Service issued a “contingency plan” late in the night of Sept. 30 outlining how it would be handling the shutdown. However, it was not specific to Yosemite and was a general outline for the NPS.
The memo, which came from the U.S. Department of the Interior, listed various “activities necessary to protect life and property, activities expressly authorized by law and activities necessarily implied by law.”
Those included law enforcement and emergency response, fire suppression, protection of federal lands, buildings, waterways, equipment and other property within the National Park system (including research property), activities essential to ensure continued public health and safety, which includes safe use of food, water systems and wastewater systems, power distribution and human resources. The plan did not provide a lot of specifics, but did say that volunteer activities “must be discontinued in cases where necessary oversight by NPS personnel cannot be provided.”
It’s unclear exactly what that means but could have impacts in places like bookstores and programs that are staffed by volunteers but must have NPS oversight, according to local press coverage.
A book signing by local author Beth Pratt scheduled for Oct. 2 was canceled.
The contingency plan also outlined how regional offices will operate. Those offices “play key roles in policy direction and coordination,” according to the memo. However, it stated “total exempted staff” at those offices is limited to “five to 10 full-time and on-call employees.”
The memo also said if the lapse of funding begins on a weekday, which it did in this case, the park service will “execute its orderly closure and curtailment directives on the first day of the lapse. The memo goes into various aspects of how some operations might be funded but also says the assistant secretary for Fish, Wildlife and Parks has the final authority to “approve or disapprove” specific operations. It says “park roads, lookouts, trails and open-air memorials will generally remain accessible to visitors.”
It also says that parks “must” develop “daily cost estimates” for all employees and services supported by recreation fees for review and approval” by the assistant secretary of Fish, Wildlife and Parks.”
Park websites and social media will not be maintained except for emergency communications.
“Parks will not provide regular road or trail condition updates,” it says. “Emergency services will be limited.”
It does say officials in Washington “may” park grounds and other areas “with sensitive natural, cultural, historic or archaeological resources vulnerable to destruction, looting or other damage that cannot be adequately protected by the expected or exempted law enforcement staff that remains on duty.”
Commercial activities can continue but the park service “may not” bring on additional staff to support those operations. This presumably includes the operations of Aramark, which not only handles lodging, but other activities like shuttle services, some guided programs, fuel services, retail operations and more.
Concerning special events, the memo states those can be allowed under special use permits “if the activity does not require NPS personnel to provide monitoring for protection of resources or government property or monitoring for public health and safety protection such as crowd control, beyond existing expected and exempted personnel …”
Comments
One response
[…] Yosemite National Park Remains Open During Government Shutdown, Services Limited […]