Utah's congressional delegation wants the federal government to fund full operations at their national parks during the ongoing partial government shutdown/Bryce Canyon National Park photo by Rebecca Latson
Utah's congressional delegation wants the federal government to fund full operations at their state's five national parks, saying failing to do so puts the public's safety at risk during the ongoing partial government shutdown.
In separate letters -- one from the state's three GOP congressmen and one from first-term Democrat Ben McAdams -- the politicians maintain that while the Antideficiency Act normally prohibits agencies from general operations "in the absence of appropriations," it also makes an exception for "emergencies involving the safety of human life or the protection of property."
"Park rangers and search and rescue personnel respond to hundreds of emergency incidents in Utah parks each year," the Republicans wrote Friday. "While some national parks may see a decrease in visitation during the winter season, this is not always the case. Zion has seen a surge of visitation, with as many as 11,000 people visiting the park in a single day. Only a skeleton crew is left to protect and serve these thousands of visitors."
McAdams, who in November defeated Republican Mia Love for Utah's 4th Congressional District, pointed out in his letter to acting Interior Secretary David Bernhardt that with no maintenance crews Arches National Park staff had to close a road when it became snow-covered.
Along with Zion, the delegation wants full funding restored to Bryce Canyon, Canyonlands, Capitol Reef, and Arches national parks. There was no mention of Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, Golden Spike National Historic Site, Dinosaur National Monument, or Cedar Breaks National Monument.
During the ongoing partial government shutdown the National Park Service was directed to keep its parks open as much as possible. With the shutdown heading into its third week, more and more parks are being overwhelmed by human waste and garbage and have slowly been closing campgrounds and other areas where the trash has been overwhelming.
Yosemite National Park officials also announced Friday evening that the John Muir and Nevada Fall trails were being closed for human safety and due to human waste. On Christmas Day a man died above Nevada Fall when he fell in the Merced River and hit his head. Sequoia and Kings Canyon national parks closed in entirety due to human safety and sanitation issues, and campgrounds in Yosemite, Joshua Tree, Big Bend, and Death Valley national parks also have been closed. Some roads in Rocky Mountain National Park were closed December 30 when they became snow-covered.
Utah's Republican congressmen -- Rob Bishop, Chris Stewart, and John Curtis -- asked the acting secretary to "invoke this exception to the Antideficiency Act and immediately take emergency measures to resume operations to the fullest extent allowable under the law."
Zion National Park has been supported by a coalition of groups -- the state of Utah; St. George, Utah; Washington County, and the Zion Forever Project -- that has provided funding to provide minimal custodial services in the park. On Friday those groups announced they would provide additional funding for the services through Jan. 12.
At Bryce Canyon, the Bryce Canyon Natural History Association provided funds to keep the park's visitor center open (8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.) at least through January 10th. The Great Smoky Mountains Association initially provided funds to keep Great Smoky Mountains National Park's visitor centers open, but that money ran out January 1.
In their letter, the Republicans noted that the state of Utah, which spent $1 million back in October 2013 to keep the five parks open during the government shutdown that month, never was reimbursed by the federal government.
Comments
Close them until the Trump shutdown is over. If you fund Utah's national parks, fund all national parks. Why should Utah's parks be singled out to open? Utah's congressional delegation should start negotiating and putting pressure on Trump to end his intransigent demand for a useless (Mexico paid for) wall. Border security and immigration reforms are laudable goals. A wall, for a wall's sake, just so Trump can keep a campaign promise to right-wing pundits and supporters, is a dumb and wasteful idea.
Utah was singled out because the congressmen are from Utah. They're just addressing their own constituencies. Time for the other state delegations to step up and demand the same. Actually, Interior funding and the other departments aside from DHS, which is where the wall funding would reside, could be dealt with while the debate over the wall funding and DHS continued. No reason to keep Interior, Transportation, and other departments shuttered. Roughly 70-75% of the government is already funded so fund everything BUT DHS and let the wall debate continue without dragging these other agencies and the NPS through this mess.
I didn't think Utah needed the federal governmentaybe the should use the money their getting from extraction in the lands formerly of Grand Staircase Escalante
Pretty ironic that the state that has some of the most anti-environmental, anti-wilderness, anti-monuments, anti-parks, anti-public lands politicians now wants an exception to keep their parks open. I agree with Matt: use some of those payments from Utah's extraction activities to pay for your parks. And, please, don't pontificate about small government.
The LDS Church and the People of Utah could easily fund the Utah National Parks and they should ecause the Parks are a profit center for their members and state.
This idea and logic is flawed re: turning away local assistance for sites in Utah and is an all-or-nothing mindset. I diasagree with the NPS passing up on any state assistance be offered. The NPS builds relationships with communities that forge a unique relationshi for conducting daily operations to include shared dispatch centers for emergency responders to conduct search and rescue operations. There are numerous MOUs in place that allow the park site to conduct operations under congruent jurisdictions. It's hard to sit back and see our own treasures being treated so poorly -- especially knowing so many public servants that dedicate their lives to protecting or parks to "provide for the enjoyment of the same in such manner and by such means as will leave them unimpaired for the enjoyment of future generations". That same all-or-nothing distortion is what 45 is doing to maintain his stance. Would we not accept aid if this were a response to a hurricane or flood? The way I see it, this is a crisis and warrants any and aid that can be rendered.
Maybe BrianP they aren't as anti-environmental, anti-wilderness, anti-monuments, anti-parks, anti-public lands as you believe.
This idea and logic is flawed re: turning away local assistance for sites in Utah and is an all-or-nothing mindset. I diasagree with the NPS passing up on any state assistance be offered. The NPS builds relationships with communities that forge a unique relationships for conducting daily operations to include shared dispatch centers for emergency responders to conduct search and rescue operations. There are numerous MOUs in place that allow the park site to conduct operations under congruent jurisdictions. It's hard to sit back and see our own treasures being treated so poorly -- especially knowing so many public servants that dedicate their lives to protecting our parks to "provide for the enjoyment of the same in such manner and by such means as will leave them unimpaired for the enjoyment of future generations". That same all-or-nothing distortion is what 45 is doing to maintain his stance. Would the NPS not accept aid if this were a response to a hurricane or flood? The way I see it, this is a crisis and warrants any and all aid that can be rendered.