As tourists visit national parks and DC, advocates and local businesses warn about shutdown impact

Emily Thompson, the executive director of the Coalition to Protect America’s National Parks, is concerned about the safety of the parks with limited staff.

(CNN) — The government shutdown didn’t deter 26-year-old Nudrat Mahajabin from visiting Grand Canyon National Park earlier this month, even though the signs were clear: No entrance fees would be collected, the visitors’ center was closed and no park rangers were nearby.

“We had planned this trip a while back. So, there was really no going back,” she said. “I feel like a shutdown might not close the gates, but it does affect and impact the caretakers. And I guess that’s what worries me the most.”

While many tourists like Mahajabin are yet to be discouraged by the government shutdown, national park advocates and businesses are worried about the safety of national parks and tourism’s impact on the local economies that surround them if the congressional stalemate continues.

The shutdown, which congressional leaders do not appear close to resolving, has meant tourist destinations like the Smithsonian museums in DC are closed and 9,000 National Park Service employees are furloughed, impacting the operations of the parks. The Department of Interior is keeping many national parks partially open amid the shutdown, and some sites have gotten a boost from state funds.

In West Virginia, where tourists typically flock for hiking, white water rafting and spotting fall foliage, New River Gorge National Park and Harpers Ferry National Historical Park are staying open using state funds because of an agreement made with the Department of Interior.

The state’s Republican governor, Patrick Morrisey, said last week that West Virginia would keep the parks fully running through October 18 for Bridge Day, a festival where onlookers gather to see jumpers parachute off the New River Gorge Bridge.

“We know that tourism is huge for West Virginia, bringing in billions and billions of dollars every year,” he said. “So, this was not the time to be shut down.”

Some business owners near national parks say they have yet to take a hit, while others say they’re bracing for bigger impacts down the road if the shutdown drags on.

Rob Dobson, the owner of West Virginia Adventures near the New River Gorge National Park, told CNN he’s not expecting a drop in reservations for white water rafting trips or cabin stays this fall.

“This shutdown has had zero effect on us. We are open for business,” he said.

Elisabeth Barton, general manager of Echo Adventure Cooperative, a guide service in Groveland, California, told CNN that with no one collecting fees at the entrances to Yosemite, the business is “having a much busier October than we would normally have.”

Meanwhile, in Washington, DC, where business leaders are worried the shutdown may deter tourists from traveling to the nation’s capital, the shutdown has been a boon for some private museums, which have seen a rise in visitors since the Smithsonian Institute was forced to close its museums and the National Zoo on October 12.

A spokesperson for Mount Vernon, the nearby home of George Washington, said the estate has seen 50% more visitors than during the first two weeks of October last year and has been averaging 100 phone calls per day. The National Law Enforcement Museum and the International Spy Museum, both private museums, also told CNN they are already seeing an uptick in visitors.

It’s unclear whether tourism overall in DC has taken a hit, nearly three weeks into the government shutdown. In the first nine days of the shutdown, total ridership on DC’s trains and buses was higher than the same period last year, according to a CNN review of Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority’s data on daily train station entries and bus boardings.

Concerns about long-term impact of the shutdown

Ferguson also warned of the shutdown’s economic impact on the nation’s capital, which lost about $47.4 million in revenue during the 35-day shutdown in 2018-2019.

“Everything from the small mom-and-pop sandwich shops to the larger entities are impacted by the shutdown,” Ferguson told CNN. “We are in the prime months and weeks for convention business and tourism. So, the impact is significant.”

And at the national parks, which have limited staffing, advocates are warning about the consequences of staying open – there are no rangers at the park entrances to collect entrance fees, and there may be delays in law enforcement and emergency responses.

With the absence of park rangers and other Park Service employees in Yosemite, Barton, the business owner, said the park is getting a “weird contingent of folks who have a need for unfettered access, who think ‘I can do anything I want.’”

She said there have been instances of “people being frustrated, easily tuned-up.” Her guides have witnessed people flying drones, which are generally banned in national parks. When her guides approached the operators and told them it was prohibited, she said many became hostile. She said that people are also base jumping — leaping from structures and using a parachute to descend to the ground — which is illegal.

With these concerns in mind, the National Parks Conservation Association is asking national parks to close.

Visitors “might be able to access beautiful places, but they’re not going to have the full experience that they’re used to at national parks. And that also means that people are not going to be getting some of the fundamental guidance,” David Lamfrom, the vice president of regional programs for the National Parks Conservation Association, told CNN, adding that staff reductions could impact safety and search-and-rescue operations.

Emily Thompson, the executive director of the Coalition to Protect America’s National Parks, is concerned about the safety of the parks with limited staff.

“Park rangers and Park Service employees do so much at parks regarding safety and preventative messaging,” she told CNN.

Thompson’s group has already received reports of trash piling up in some national parks, an issue that arose in previous shutdowns, notably in 2018. One park ranger told CNN that as the shutdown goes on, they are increasingly worried about vandalism and trash buildup, which could create a backlog of work when the shutdown ends.

In Colorado’s Rocky Mountain National Park, staff and volunteers from the YMCA of the Rockies are gathering to clean up trash left behind on hikes.

“My hope in all this is that people are leaning in,” said Jason Nelson, the group’s communication’s director. “We don’t know how long this government shutdown is going to be.”

The Interior Department told CNN earlier this month that “critical functions that protect life, property, and public health will remain in place, including visitor access in many locations, law enforcement, and emergency response.”

Meanwhile, some local businesses near national parks say they are doing OK but are watching closely for impacts to their business and their communities if the shutdown drags on.

Eddie Love, who runs Mountain Mama vacation cabins with his wife in Harpers Ferry, West Virginia, told CNN bookings are down 30%, and that anecdotally, at least one person canceled because they had been furloughed due to the shutdown. While his business will be OK, fewer visitors could harm the shops in the downtown area, he noted.

“October is usually a pretty strong month for us,” he said. “We’ll be OK even if the shutdown continues, but I know there are lots of other businesses that are a little more on the margin and might have a harder time making ends meet if it dragged on.”

Similarly, William Torres, the owner of DC Trails — a tour bus company — told CNN the government shutdown is not a big concern “at the moment.”

“If it keeps going and it goes on, you know, past November and into the Thanksgiving season, then it could probably affect me some,” he said.

CNN’s Marshall Cohen, Brian Todd and Austin Culpepper contributed to this report.

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