The National Park Service, which is part of the Interior Department, released its plans for the shutdown late Tuesday evening. The document says 9,296 of the service’s 14,500 employees will be furloughed, but many areas will remain open to the public.
“Park roads, lookouts, trails, and open-air memorials will generally remain accessible to visitors,” the plan says.
The NPS’ plan for the parks themselves makes a distinction between those with accessible areas that collect fees under a law known as the Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act and those that don’t. The agency has a list of parks that do and don’t charge fees on its website here.
About 100 of the 400 parks in the National Parks system collect fees. Those parks that have accessible areas will use available fees to provide “basic visitor services” to maintain “restrooms and sanitation, trash collection, road maintenance, campground operations, law enforcement and emergency operations, and staffing entrance gates as necessary to provide critical safety information.”
Parks with accessible areas that don’t collect fees may be able to use “regional or national” fees with the approval of the service’s director.
Parks without accessible areas will not operate during the shutdown, the NPS plan says. Staffing will be at a minimum and “[n]o visitor services will be provided.” The service “will not issue permits, conduct interpretive or educational programs, collect trash, operate or provide restrooms, maintain roads and walkways (including plowing and ice melting) or provide visitor information.”
“As a general rule, if a facility or area is locked or secured during non-business hours (buildings, gated parking lots, etc.) it should be locked or secured for the duration of the shutdown,” the plan says.
The service says parks can enter into agreements with state and local governments and third parties “for donations to fund the full operation of an individual park unit or for specified services.”
