The deputy director
of the National Park Service, P. Daniel Smith, has released the following
statement on public access to national park properties during the government
shutdown.
“During the lapse
of appropriations, the men and women of the National Park Service who have
remained on duty have gone to incredible lengths to keep America’s iconic
national parks as accessible as possible to the American public. Thanks to
the strong relationships that many national parks have built with partners
across the country, a number of states, private concession companies, and
park nonprofit groups have stepped up to provide millions of dollars’ worth
of donations and in-kind services to help over forty parks continue to
provide key services for visitors.
“As the lapse in
appropriations continues, it has become clear that highly visited parks with
limited staff have urgent needs that cannot be addressed solely through the
generosity of our partners.
“Over the last few
days the Acting Secretary of the Department of the Interior David Bernhardt
and the National Park Service (NPS) have explored a number of options to
address the maintenance and sanitation issues that have arisen at a number
of highly visited parks while keeping our commitment to the American public
to ensure they have access to their lands.
“The NPS currently
has funds derived from entrance, camping, parking, and other fees collected
from park visitors that would typically be used for future projects at
parks. After consultation with the Office of the Solicitor at the Department
of the Interior, it has been determined that these funds can and should be
used to provide immediate assistance and services to highly visited parks
during the lapse in appropriations.
“We are taking this
extraordinary step to ensure that parks are protected, and that visitors can
continue to access parks with limited basic services.
“In the coming days
the NPS will begin to use these funds to clean up trash that has built up at
numerous parks, clean and maintain restrooms, bring additional law
enforcement rangers into parks to patrol accessible areas, and to restore
accessibility to areas that would typically be accessible this time of year.
While the NPS will not be able to fully open parks, and many of the smaller
sites around the country will remain closed, utilizing these funds now will
allow the American public to safely visit many of our nation’s national
parks while providing these iconic treasures the protection they deserve.”
Visitors should go
to www.nps.gov and select “Find a Park” for
information on access to parks and sites in a particular area.