Under pressure from governors, the Obama administration said Thursday it would allow some of the shuttered national parks to reopen – as long as states used their own money to pay for park operations. Interior Department spokesman Blake Androff said the government does not plan to reimburse states that pay to reopen parks.
Costs could run into the millions of dollars, depending on how long the shutdown lasts and how many parks reopen. Congress could authorize reimbursements once the shutdown ends, although it was not clear whether that will happen.
Governors in at least four states asked for and won the authority to reopen national parks within their borders because of the economic impacts caused by the park closures. All 401 national park units – including such icons as the Grand Canyon and Yosemite and Zion national parks – have been closed since Oct. 1 because of the partial government shutdown. More than 20,000 National Park Service employees have been furloughed, and lawmakers from both parties have complained that park closures have wreaked havoc on nearby communities that depend on tourism.
Interior Secretary Sally Jewell said the government will not surrender control of national parks or monuments to the states.
Utah’s Republican governor, Gary Herbert, said late Thursday he had wired money from state taxpayers that will open Utah’s national five national parks. He said he was inking a deal with Jewell that provides $166,000 a day in funding for the five red rock parks and other units of the national park system, which started Saturday. He said that will keep them open for 10 days, and the state can buy extra days as needed.
Interior Department spokesman Blake Androff said the government does not plan to reimburse states that pay to reopen parks. Costs could run into the millions of dollars, depending on how long the shutdown lasts and how many parks reopen. Congress could authorize reimbursements once the shutdown ends, although it was not clear whether that will happen.
Governors of Arizona, South Dakota and Colorado made similar requests to reopen some or all of their parks. Arizona legislative leaders and Governor Jan Brewer worked to open the Grand Canyon. Brewer’s spokesperson said, “the state cannot pay the federal government’s bills indefinitely.” Businesses outside the Grand Canyon have pledged $400,000.
October is a peak month for tourism in Arizona and other parts of the West.
Herbert, said in a letter Tuesday to President Barack Obama that the shutdown of national parks has been “devastating” to individuals and businesses that rely on park operations for their livelihood. Utah is home to five national parks, including Zion, Bryce and Arches, which attract visitors from around the world.
“The current federally mandated closure is decimating the bottom line of bed-and-breakfast business owners and operators in Torrey (Utah), outfitters at Bryce Canyon City and restaurant owners in Moab,” Herbert wrote.
He estimated the economic impact of the federal government shutdown on Utah at about $100 million.
Figures compiled by a coalition of retired park service workers indicate that some 700,000 people a day would have been visiting the parks and that the surrounding areas are losing $76 million in visitor spending per day.
The park service said it is losing $450,000 per day in revenue from entrance fees and other in-park expenditures, such as campground fees and boat rentals.
Rep. Doc Hastings, R-Wash., chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee, said the Obama administration was playing “political games” with national parks.
States and communities whose economic livelihoods are tied to national parks “deserve better than this administration’s political games to make this shutdown as painful as possible,” Hastings said.