Federal funding expired at 12:01 a.m. Wednesday, after Congress failed to pass a funding bill. Many federal operations have been halted, and the U.S. Department of the Interior, which oversees the National Park Service, has furloughed 9,296 of the 14,500 NPS workers.
The shutdown affects 63 national parks, including Rocky Mountain National Park, and 400 park “units,” such as historic sites, national monuments, battlefields, memorials, and recreation areas, within the national park system.
As of late Thursday afternoon, RMNP remained accessible, even though it was not fully staffed. A long line of cars could be seen entering the park, and the green “open” lights were on in kiosks at the Beaver Meadows entrance.
In an email received Wednesday by the Estes Valley Voice from the National Park Service News Media’s Office of Public Affairs, “The National Park Service will continue to keep parks as accessible as possible during the lapse in appropriations.” The official statement said, “Critical functions that protect life, property, and public health will remain in place, including visitor access in many locations, law enforcement, and emergency response.”
In September, the National Park Service published a nine-page contingency plan outlining its operations in the event that appropriations were not made.
Due to the significant economic impact of RMNP on the state’s economy, Gov. Jared Polis said Wednesday that keeping the park open and accessible to visitors is a priority, and he is prepared to utilize state funds if necessary. The shutdown occurs as visitors come to the park to experience the peak autumn colors and witness the elk rut. Ten percent of RMNP’s visitors come during October.
In a press release issued by the governor’s office, Polis said, “We’re urging the federal government to keep our national parks open and staffed, or create avenues for the state to assist in keeping parks open and protected.”
Some conservation groups, however, warn that the national parks are vulnerable without proper staffing.
Tracy Coppola of the National Parks Conservation Association told the Estes Valley Voice that it is unfortunate the park is not closing during the shutdown. The NPCA has urged that all national parks be closed during the shutdown until a funding deal is reached in an effort to protect the RMNP from the type of damage that occurred during a 35-day shutdown between December 2018 and January 2019.
“We are very worried about the park and its staff, as well as the regional NPS offices, including the Denver Service Center and the Natural Resource Stewardship and Science Directorate here in Colorado, which the park relies on for management and operations,” said Coppola.
Since late January, the NPCA has been concerned about a staffing crisis in the NPS, which has experienced a 24-percent loss of its permanent staff. The advocacy and lobbying organization is now sounding an alarm about the possibility of mass terminations within the NPS, which are expected to occur at any time.
In anticipation of the federal government shutdown, a group of 40 former national park superintendents sent a memo, organized by the Coalition to Protect America’s National Parks and dated Sept. 25, to Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, urging that the parks be closed if a government shutdown occurred. The memo cited problems of vandalism, trash, and safety risks in past closures.