Uncertainty lingers over US national parks as government shutdown looms | Trump administration

Tuesday evening, in the last hours before the closing of the American government, now imminent, the National Park Service (NPS) began preparations to close certain parts of popular public land across the country – but trails and other free access zones will remain open.

The advice for the managers of the park in the event of federal closure were uncertain, because the dead end was, which makes fear that the parks are forced to stay open without anyone to endow them.

Late Tuesday, the acting director of the NPS, Jessica Bowron, published advice in an internal email examined by The Guardian, that any closed park installation should be ready to close for the closure period.

“If an installation or zone is locked or secure during non -commercial hours (buildings, closed parking lots, etc.) [sic] It must be locked or secure for the time of closure, “said Bowron in the email.

The generally accessible areas, including “park roads, shares, trails and outdoor commemorative monuments”, will remain accessible, and the parks will be able to use the funds of the costs they have collected – a budget maintained separate from federal credits – to continue to maintain the bathrooms, trash, campsite and emergency operations.

The previous use of these fees – collected under the Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act – to support the operations of the Park during the closures has proven to be a violation of the law by an analysis of the 2019 government’s office.

Throughout the week, the leaders and defenders of the National Park strongly pushed the Trump administration not to repeat the previous policies that kept the American parks opened when they are not struck.

“The national parks do not arise themselves. These are workers’ workers of the National Park Service who keep them safe, clean and accessible,” 40 former superintendents said in a letter published in Doug Burgum, the interior secretary, asking him to close the parks if a stop occurs. “If sufficient staff are not there, visitors should not be it either.”

Irreversible damage has been caused in popular parks, including Joshua Tree in California, after a month -one -month closure of Donald Trump’s first term when his administration asked the parks opened while funding was interrupted and workers were on leave.

Unattended, visitors have left destruction trails. Prehistoric petroglyphs were vandalized in Big Bend National Park. Joshua’s trees, some of more than a century, were cut in Joshua Tree National Park, while garbage and toilet overflowed. The tire tracks crushed sensitive plants and desert habitats from illegal all-terrain vehicles in Death Valley. There were widespread reports on the poaching of fauna, the research and rescue teams were quickly overwhelmed by calls and the reception centers were burned.

There were 26 pages of damages listed, according to Kristen Brengel, main vice-president of government affairs for the National Parks Conservation Association, which added that these effects occurred in late December and January-a season where many parks are generally quieter.

Fall months, and October in particular, still draws millions of visitors While the peak of summer visits begins to slow down. In 2024, there were more than 28.4 million recreational visits in October only, according to NPS data.

Park staff also plays an important role in the attenuation of forest fires, ensuring that camp fires are properly managed and extinguished, and initiating an answer when ignitions occur. Fall is a period of high risk in the American west, when strong winds can quickly keep the flames away, and the park defenders warn that leaving the parks open with only a skeleton crew could be catastrophic – and extremely dangerous.

“There are many reasons to worry – it would be really problematic if they allowed the parks to stay open with almost no staff,” said Brengel. “I’m worried about visitors who could enter.”

The National Park Service is based on emergency plans to guide their actions in the event of closure and, apart from the instructions included in the email, many aspects of the plan were not yet clear on Tuesday evening. The Ministry of the Interior refused to comment or provide details on what is included in this plan.

Its latest directive, published in November 2023, as part of the Biden administration, has asked that “the doors will be locked, the reception centers will be closed and that thousands of park rangers will be convened”. The officials of the time said that lessons had been learned from the detrimental decisions that left the parks vulnerable to destruction when Trump’s 2018-2019 closed.

But it is not clear if Trump will call for more access. During his first mandate, his head of actor of the DOI intervened directly while the closure was underway to reopen the parks which had already started the preparations to close.

A burgum prescription issued in April forced parks to remain open even when the resources were seriously thin, serving an early indication that the administration could put pressure for public access, despite the risks.

Even if the parks remain closed, the closure should have a serious impact, especially on the heels of an already difficult summer.

The National Parks Service has resisted the deep budget cuts of the Trump administration, with reduced staff of almost a quarter in all areas, and 90 national parks have worked under considerable pressure, according to the letter of the superintendents.

The visitors of visitors have closed, without the adequate staff and funding, as rangers and crews find it difficult to respond to emergencies, maintain facilities and guarantee that conservation can coexist with leisure.

“The parks seem to be in the sub-effective even a regular day constantly,” said Brengel, adding that they worked with bare budgets.

We fear that more cuts can arrive, especially as a closure takes place.

The Office of Management and Budget (OMB), led by the architect of the 2025 project, Russ Vought, also indicated that he would operate the closure to further reduce federal staff, by instructing agencies in a memorandum to “take advantage of this opportunity to consider a reduction in force (RIF) for all employees in programs, projects or activities”.

“We just don’t know what this administration is going to do right now,” said Brengel. “The laws do not seem to prevent them from doing things harmful to the parks.”

Climb too Pack a financial punch and closure also has strong consequences.

Long -term projects and research could also be assigned, as well as the regular maintenance of trails and infrastructure, and the parks would take a considerable financial blow from the lost income that comes from the visit.

The parks closings during a closure in 2013 which extended over just over two weeks led to around $ 500 million in lost visitors spending, with significant damage caused in the gateway communities nestled near popular leisure areas that depend on tourism.

About a million visitors a day are refused, according to the NPCA, causing up to $ 77 million lost per day in gateway communities. Park staff, many of whom are already financially stretched, on faces without remuneration.

The legislators have until Wednesday to agree on a spending plan, although Trump and the Republicans in Congress have pointed out that they would not do much to stop the imminent closure.

“Americans across the country and through the political spectrum chore our national parks and our public lands,” wrote the superintendents. “They keep our most special sites so that everyone can go hiking, swimming, hunting, fishing, learning and looking for comfort in nature. With their future already threatened, it is not the time to use parks and public lands as pawns in political games. ”