Five national parks in Utah, plus one national recreation area and two national monuments, will reopen, temporarily, under a deal the state reached with Interior Secretary Sally Jewell.
Under the agreement, the state will provide $1.67 million so Arches, Bryce Canyon, Capitol Reef, Canyonlands, and Zion national parks, along with Cedar Breaks and Natural Bridges national monuments, and the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area can open for up to ten days.
“Utah’s national parks are the backbone of many rural economies and hard-working Utahns are paying a heavy price for this shutdown,” Governor Gary Herbert said in announcing the agreement. “I commend Secretary Jewell for being open to Utah’s solution, and the world should know Utah is open for business and visitors are welcome.”
Under the terms of the deal, the Interior Department will notify site-specific personnel to return to work as soon as the state wires the money. Secretary Jewell indicated to the governor that within 24 hours of receiving wired funds, the national sites could be open and fully operational. At the time of this release, Utah expects parks to become fully operational by Saturday.
Utah’s initial funding for the agreement will come from existing resources within the Division of State Parks of the Department of Natural Resources. Further action may be warranted by the Utah State Legislature in a special session expected for next Wednesday, October 16. The Governor’s Office continues to work closely with legislative leaders to make DNR whole and identify optimal solutions. If the government shutdown continues beyond 10 days, Utah can make additional payments to keep the national parks and monuments open, a release from the governor's office said.
While Secretary Jewell made it clear to the governor that she cannot obligate the federal government for reimbursement to the State, the agreement stipulates repayment will be possible with approval from the U.S. Congress. Consequently, the governor has engaged Utah’s congressional delegation to actively pursue timely repayment to state coffers.
Elsewhere in the country, officials in Wyoming, California, and Washington state said they would not try to fund the reopening of national parks in their states.
Comments
"Was the ruling in error?"
I suggest it is in the best interest of the NPS and the American people for us to answer that question first before dismisssing this as a class issue.
Ah, yes. The stench of envy.
Or is it the stench of the new American entitlement mentality?
The same kind of mentality that leads to cutting trees along a scenic easement by the Potomac River and then canning the ranger who tried to blow the whistle. Or the mentality that produces a mansion on a bluff in Zion where it is visible for miles. Or the mentality of people here in my own county who build multi-million vacation "cabins" on mountaintops and then complain their taxes are too high while demanding -- and receiving -- incredibly expensive snow removal paid for by the rest of us.
Methinks that stinks a lot more than any envy.
I've noticed countless times that the majority of complainers are those with the bucks while those doing the work simply keep plugging along and make do with what they have.
You're the perfect liberal Lee.... Your envy of those who have more because they worked more is unequaled...
You're the perfect example of entitlement Mike . . . your belief that those who have more actually worked harder for it somehow is completely without merit. Don't try to tell me that a police officer or nurse or teacher or sanitation worker or clerk at WalMart doesn't work hard for what they have. And those of us who don't have enough to hide it in offshore accounts can't even claim that advantage. Here I am, a retireee who paid a higher effective tax rate than one of our Presidential candidates last time around. Who is the entitled one?
People who actually know me chide me for being too "conservative." Hmm. Maybe I'm just one of those nut jobs who actually believes in some old fashioned honesty and fair play. Both of which now seem to be rapidly becoming endangered species. Perhaps honesty and fair play are becoming liberal values. If that is the case, then that's really frightening.
The stench of entitlement is becoming a lot stronger.
This is such a ridiculous and hackneyed caricature of a liberal, I would have guessed that it was actually written by a liberal caricaturing a conservative. Let's talk about the parks, instead.
re: "Let's talk about the parks, instead."
A really good idea :-)
Lee - I don't think you would find a soul here that thinks that was right
Or probably that.
But that is totally bogus. I live in such a community (Breckenridge) where people are building multi-million vacation "cabins". I have never heard any of them complain their taxes are too high. Furthermore the taxes for snow removal are miniscule. All street maintenance is 4% of our town's budget and our town's share of the property tax bill is 13%. So .52% (4% of 13%) of our taxes are paid for all street maintenance and snow removal would be a fraction of that. In contrast 38% of our property taxes go to the local schools and another 8% to the community college. But our second home owners (80% of the properties) don't have anyone going to these schools. Not only are they not getting any benefit for 46% of the taxes they pay, they don't even get to vote on how their money is spent. Who is it that is paying for services for others? Who is it that feels "entitled"?
Your perception of the world is so far from reality it is scary. Unfortunately, its all too common an afflication.
{edit} Actually, I over estimated the share of the maintenance budget to the total property tax bill as street maintenance is 4% of the total town budget and the town has revenue from many other sources - again primarily out of towners with lodging taxes, and real estate transfer taxes. So when you get down to hit, snow removal might be in the .1-.2% of all property tax. So much for your big subsidy Lee
Thirty years on Wall Street and then moving into real estate. And then defending the fat cats who buy and build McMansions.
Time to move along, folks. Nothing new here.