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WA national parks open during government shutdown
National parks will remain open during the government shutdown, with many employees furloughed.
SEATTLE - The impacts of the federal government shutdown are hitting Washingtonians, with national parks staying open but running with limited staff and federal employees bracing for missed paychecks.
The National Association of Park Rangers says they urged the Department of the Interior to close parks during the shutdown, citing what they saw during 2018: vandalism and destruction. But the recommendations were bypassed. Parks will remain open — though it won’t be business as usual.
Local perspective:
At Seattle’s Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park, a "closed" sign on the visitor center door was clear during business hours Wednesday.
Across the Pacific Northwest and the country, the National Park Service contingency plan shows about 9,300 of its 14,500 employees will be furloughed, leaving a skeleton crew.
That means visitor centers, restrooms and trash service at places like Mount Rainier and Olympic National Parks won’t be available. Safety is also a concern, according to Bill Wade, Executive Director of the National Association of Park Rangers.
"Because there are going to be way fewer employees that are going to be exempted from the furlough, that response times to accidents or injuries or law enforcement situations could be significant, so visitors that get in trouble can expect that to be a consequence," Wade said.
According to the plan, about 2,700 rangers considered "necessary to protect life and property" will continue working — but without pay until Congress acts. Another 2,500 will be funded by recreation fees or other sources.
Wade says they’ve seen this before during the 35-day shutdown in 2018.
What they're saying:
"It really depends on how long this goes on before it really starts to impact the employees. The 2018 shut down that went that long, there were a number of employees that started to have real problems paying their bills during that time and so forth. So we're hoping that this one doesn't, you know, doesn't take that long to resolve," Wade said.
During that last shutdown, rangers turned to food banks or second jobs to get by. Wade worries the same will happen now.
"It creates a lot of stress and a lot of worry and a lot of concern," Wade said. "Morale among the employees of the Park Service is lower than it's ever been in the history of the park service, and it's really sad the way they've been treated."
Big picture view:
It’s not just rangers. At Seattle’s Federal Building, longtime IRS employee Richard Ped said he’ll be working unpaid for the next five days.
"I wonder how long it will go for, but I've been through these before, and they've always ended, and I suspect that'll be the case this time," Ped said. "For me, just have to watch the budget as you normally do. I'll be okay, though."
Washington has about 58,000 federal employees and more than 57,000 active-duty service members, along with communities that rely on park tourism. Wade says those local economies could feel the effects if visitors change plans.
"If visitors, for some reason, decide not to, not to take those trips, or that weekend trip […] that definitely could have an impact on those gateway communities for those parks," Wade said.
However, it’s not just parks. If you’ve got international travel plans, you can still apply for a passport at the post office, but the federal office that processes those applications may be closed — meaning you should expect delays.
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The Source: Information in this story comes from original reporting by FOX 13 Seattle reporter Alejandra Guzman.