Photo credit: SeanPavonePhoto - stock.adobe.comThe following is an excerpt from a report from CNN.
The government shutdown didn’t deter 26-year-old Nudrat Mahajabin from visiting Grand Canyon National Park earlier this month, even though the signs were clear: No entrance fees would be collected, the visitors’ center was closed and no park rangers were nearby.
“We had planned this trip a while back. So, there was really no going back,” she said. “I feel like a shutdown might not close the gates, but it does affect and impact the caretakers. And I guess that’s what worries me the most.”
While many tourists like Mahajabin are yet to be discouraged by the government shutdown, national park advocates and businesses are worried about the safety of national parks and tourism’s impact on the local economies that surround them if the congressional stalemate continues.
The shutdown, which congressional leaders do not appear close to resolving, has meant tourist destinations like the Smithsonian museums in D.C. are closed and 9,000 National Park Service employees are furloughed, impacting the operations of the parks. The Department of Interior is keeping many national parks partially open amid the shutdown, and some sites have gotten a boost from state funds.
In West Virginia, where tourists typically flock for hiking, white water rafting and spotting fall foliage, New River Gorge National Park and Harpers Ferry National Historical Park are staying open using state funds because of an agreement made with the Department of Interior.
The state’s Republican governor, Patrick Morrisey, said last week that West Virginia would keep the parks fully running through Oct. 18 for Bridge Day, a festival where onlookers gather to see jumpers parachute off the New River Gorge Bridge.
“We know that tourism is huge for West Virginia, bringing in billions and billions of dollars every year,” he said. “So, this was not the time to be shut down.”
Some business owners near national parks say they have yet to take a hit, while others say they’re bracing for bigger impacts down the road if the shutdown drags on.
Rob Dobson, the owner of West Virginia Adventures near the New River Gorge National Park, told CNN he’s not expecting a drop in reservations for white water rafting trips or cabin stays this fall.
“This shutdown has had zero effect on us. We are open for business,” he said.
Elisabeth Barton, general manager of Echo Adventure Cooperative, a guide service in Groveland, California, told CNN that with no one collecting fees at the entrances to Yosemite, the business is “having a much busier October than we would normally have.”
Click here to read the full report from CNN.
