YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK - Many federal government services are now shut down due to a political impasse in Washington. But many national parks remain open, including Yellowstone. However, not all of the park is open for business.
Vehicles flowed steadily into the park on Wednesday, the first day of the shutdown. But visitors did not have to pay to enter, though there was a QR code for those who needed a pass.
Watch: What visitors need to know if entering national parks:
Once inside the park, workers could be seen at a road construction project, but these were outside contractors, not park service employees.
The only National Park Service people remaining on the job are those in emergency services such as law enforcement, fire protection, search and rescue and a few who will manage what are considered essential services.
“Visitor centers are closed and so that's an impact for sure to the visitor experience and then some restrooms and some of the maintenance, but fortunately, we're kind of now in the slower time. If this happened in July, it would be a nightmare," Travis Watt of Three Bear Lodge in West Yellowstone said.
Watch related coverage: Government shutdown impacts operations at Glacier National Park
With the funding lapse, you won't be talking with rangers in the visitor's center, because those are closed and all nonessential employees are on furlough. But, other facilities are open.
For instance, the Madison campground and others that are normally open this late in the season remain open. In fact, people MTN spoke with at the Madison campground, and in other parts of the park, said they're having a hard time telling if there really is any difference from before the funding lapse.
Travis Watt Full Interview with MTN News
Watt said he appreciates the efforts the Park Service is making, adding, “So on behalf of the concessionaires and the public like West Yellowstone and the other gateway entrances, they've been really good about keeping things open for us.”
A memo, sent to National Park Service managers late Tuesday, explained how the parks are to operate during the funding lapse. Roads, lookouts and trails are to remain open, though backcountry camping in Yellowstone is closed.
Park superintendents are instructed to use entrance fees to pay a skeleton staff, and that raises a legal issue. In 2019, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) determined that using the money that way violated an act of Congress. The GAO said Congress specifically restricted use of entrance fees for improving facilities, habitat restoration and interpretive programs. It remains to be seen how that might affect the current plan.
Watch related coverage: How the government shutdown affects national parks
“We are fully open for business,” said Todd Walton of Yellowstone National Park Lodges. The hotels, lodges, restaurants and some campgrounds run by the division of Xanterra remain running. “Our services are open, our facilities are open, restaurants, gift shops, tours and we’re operating more or less as normal,” said Walton.
Todd Walton Full Interview with MTN News
Some campgrounds and other facilities are closed, but that is normal at this time of year as the park winds down before the winter season.
Walton noted that his company is making a small concession to the new reality of a minimally staffed park. He said, “We really do try to tell our guests to be safe, to be, you know, leave as little impact as possible, recreate responsibly. So none of that messaging has really changed, but with you know the understanding that park service services might be limited, we are really accentuating that conversation.”
Both Walton and Watt said it is too early to say if private businesses might step in to help keep the park open, such as cleaning bathrooms and emptying garbage cans. They told MTN that any discussion of that would only begin if the funding impasse lasts more than seven to ten days.
A group of 40 former National Park superintendents and employees is urging the administration to close the parks. That’s mainly because of damage done to some parks during the 35-day 2019 budget lapse. Yellowstone did not experience that sort of damage, but the shutdown six years ago happened during the slow winter season.
Watch related coverage: What could a government shutdown look like for Yellowstone National Park?
