NEW YORK (AP) — Crowds of people loaded onto boats to tour the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island Wednesday with no immediate signs of a government shutdown that has triggered the furlough of about two-thirds of National Park Service employees.
But in Philadelphia, the nation’s birthplace, tourists enjoying a crisp fall morning on Independence Mall were thwarted in their hopes of visiting the Liberty Bell. They were turned away at the entrance and could only steal glances inside a glass pavilion of the cracked bell that symbolizes American independence.
Access varied widely across the more than 400 sites overseen by the National Park Service as the shutdown began, according to on-scene reporting by The Associated Press. Some tourists chafed at closed visitor centers and disrupted trips, while others didn’t notice changes or simply soldiered on by walking into parks with gated roads.
A shutdown released by the park service late Tuesday said “park roads, lookouts, trails, and open-air memorials will generally remain accessible to visitors.†However, parks without “accessible areas†will be closed, and sites currently open could close if damage is done to park resources or garbage is building up, the plan says.
Yet with limited information offered on government websites, questions were popping up across park service social media sites on Wednesday. People asked if camping permits would still be good at places such as Chaco Culture National Historical Park in northwestern New Mexico and if the gates would be open at Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado.
Almost 9,300 park employees furloughed
The widespread furloughs mean parks that stay open have limited services such as protection of life, property and public safety, the plan says.
At Acadia National Park in Maine, would-be hikers in search of trail maps found empty receptacles outside a closed visitor center. With no park rangers in sight, Jim Feather of Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania, said he and his wife were unsure about tackling Cadillac Mountain, with its panoramic views of the North Atlantic coast.
“It’s frustrating that they’re playing politics in D.C.,†Feather said. “Their job is to pass a budget.â€
In Mississippi, the state’s most-visited cultural attraction, Vicksburg National Military Park, was shut down. A nonprofit group was trying to work out an agreement to reopen it using donations.
There was no access to the caves or evening bat flights at Carlsbad Caverns in southern New Mexico. Roads into the park were closed.
In Florida's Everglades, tourists from Switzerland who encountered a blocked road put on packs and hiked into the park. “For us, it’s kind of special,†Andy Jeker said of being able to visit U.S. national parks, pointing to their vastness and connection with nature.
The government contingency plan does not specify which sites will be closed. The Associated Press requested further details in emails and a telephone call to officials with the National Park Service and Department of Interior on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Bill Wade with the Association of National Park Rangers, an advocacy group for park employees, said a shutdown means park workers must figure out how to pay bills while they go without pay.
“It’s just a really bad situation for everyone,†Wade said, noting that people would be visiting parks to see fall foliage.
Donations to keep parks open
Many national parks during a five-week shutdown in Trump’s first term. Limited staffing led to vandalism, overflowing garbage, and illegal off-roading.
A group of 40 former National Park Service superintendents last week urged the Trump administration to during a shutdown to prevent a repeat of the damage that occurred in 2018 and 2019. They warned a shutdown now could be worse with parks already under strain from a 24% staff cut and severe budget reductions.
About 150 park service sites that prior to the shutdown are able to use that money, until it runs out, for cleaning restrooms, collecting trash, operating campgrounds and other basic functions, according to the park service and a Congressional Research Service report.
Colorado Gov. Jared Polis said that fee money will keep eight parks in his state open for now, including Rocky Mountain National Park.
Parks also can stay open through donations from states, tribes or local governments.
Utah agreed to donate $1.7 million in 2013 to keep its national parks open. Arizona, Colorado, New York, South Dakota and Tennessee have also donated money to keep parks staffed during shutdowns.
Polis has suggested the state could do that again this time for Rocky Mountain National Park. But a spokesperson for the governor of Arizona said last week that it cannot afford to pay to keep open its national parks that include the Grand Canyon.
During a 2013 shutdown, the park service under former President Barack Obama turned away millions of visitors, leading to more than $500 million in lost spending. It also caused economic damage to gateway communities that border national parks and depend on their visitors.
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Brown reported from Billings, Montana and Montoya Bryan reported from Albuquerque. With contributions from Daniel Kozin in Everglades National Park, Florida, Matt Rourke in Philadelphia, Robert F. Bukaty in Acadia National Park, Maine; and Sophie Bates in Jackson, Mississippi.
