National Park Service to Close Parks and Furlough Park Rangers in Anticipation of Government Shutdown

The National Park Service has announced that it will close its parks and furlough park rangers if the government shuts down as expected on Sunday. This will affect tens of thousands of people and put some gateway towns in an economic chokehold.

On a call with reporters late Thursday, Biden administration officials detailed plans to shutter the majority of national park sites around the country in an effort to prevent the kind of damage sustained when the Trump administration opted to keep them open during the lengthy 2018-19 shutdown.

The looming government shutdown threatens to severely limit public access to America’s national parks and deliver a crushing economic blow to communities that rely on park tourism. The park service plans to restrict access to parks as much as possible, shuttering visitor centers, locking gates and bolting bathrooms.

The decision once again puts the country’s 425 park sites in a difficult position, as it is one of the most tangible and visible ways people interact with the natural environment. The closure of these parks will have a significant impact on the local economies that rely on park tourism, as well as the tens of thousands of people who had planned to visit the parks.

The Biden administration is urging Congress to pass a spending bill to avoid a government shutdown, but it remains to be seen if they will be successful. In the meantime, the National Park Service is preparing for the worst and will be ready to close its parks if the government shuts down.