With another government shutdown looming, former National Park Service leaders urged the Department of the Interior to close national parks if budgets are not approved in time.
In a letter to Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, 40 former park superintendents, regional directors and a former NPS director made an “urgent appeal” not to leave the parks open should Congress fail to pass a new budget, as has happened in the past.
“Leaving parks open to the public with minimal — or no — park staffing is reckless and puts both visitors and park resources at risk,” the letter read.
The retired superintendents managed such parks as Acadia, Bryce Canyon, Capitol Reef, Denali, the Everglades, the Grand Canyon, Great Smoky Mountains, Harper’s Ferry, Mount Rushmore, Yellowstone and Yosemite, among others.
There were also former regional directors from Alaska, Boston and the Pacific Northwest as well as Jonathan B. Jarvis, the 18th director of the National Park Service.
The letter referenced past government shutdowns when parks were left open with minimal staff resulting in vandalization, garbage piling up, the destruction of habitats and visitors’ safety being jeopardized.
“We don’t leave museums open without curators, or airports without air traffic controllers and we should not leave our national parks open without NPS employees,” said Emily Thompson, the executive director of the Coalition to Protect America’s National Parks,
“The most sensible outcome here is to not only keep the government open but to fully fund and staff our parks. But parks can’t run themselves and if the government shuts down, so should the national parks. Safety must come first.”
Thompson’s organization represents current and former national park employees. It partnered with the Association of National Park Rangers to write the letter.
“Without staff to monitor what is happening in parks, vandalism, poaching, ‘pothunting’ in archeological sites, and looting in battlefield sites are likely to increase,” said Bill Wade, the executive director, Association of National Park Rangers. “We believe this nation’s citizens do not want these things to happen to their beloved national parks.”
In addition to those concerns, the superintendents also noted current staffing levels, which upon last independent review were around 24% diminished since last year, are already straining the park service. That reduction in personnel is also coupled with Burgum’s April secretarial order stating that parks “must remain open.”
“This summer, our parks were pushed to the brink by budget cuts and staff reductions,” the letter reads. “If national parks are to be open to visitors when National Park employees are furloughed, these nascent issues from the summer season are sure to erupt.”
Can parks stay open without staff?
During past shutdowns, the Interior has closed the national parks and furloughed the majority of its employees. In those instances, it has retained staff that are related to protecting “life and property” — law enforcement, emergency response, border and coastal protection and fire suppression, among others.
In those instances, Utah has covered the expenses to keep the national parks in the state open.
During the 2019 partial shutdown that lasted 35 days, the state spent $69,500 to keep the gates open and snow plowed. In addition to state funds, the state’s three most popular parks — Zion, Bryce Canyon and Arches — accepted private donations.
This was just a small percentage of what it shelled out during the 2013 shutdown. Over a 10-day period, Utah spent $1.67 million in reserve funds to make sure that its five national parks and three other sites remained open.
In 2023, Utah put together a $5 million fund to ensure that the national parks in the state stayed open during shutdowns. Lawmakers maintained that national parks inject billions of dollars in the state’s local economies and employ tens of thousands of people.
“Our first priority is watching out for visitors who have traveled from all over the world to have once-in-a-lifetime experiences. Our national parks will remain open,” Vicki Varela, managing director of the Utah Office of Tourism, said at the time.
“We are also mindful of the communities that rely on the visitor economy, and of course, protecting the natural environment of these beautiful places.”
It is that spirit that the former park superintendents want to remind Burgum of in the letter.
“Americans across the country and across the political spectrum cherish our national parks and public lands,” they wrote.
“As stewards of these American treasures, we urge you to prioritize both conservation and visitor safety and protect our national parks during a potential shutdown, and into the future. If sufficient staff aren’t there, visitors shouldn’t be either.”