DENVER—According to an internal memo obtained by the New York Times, journalist Wes Siler, and E&E News, the National Park Service intends to keep national parks open with skeletal staffing when the federal government shuts down tonight. The memo indicates that the Park Service will drop from 15,000 to just 3,000 employees covering more than 400 National Park Service units across 85 million acres of national public lands.
The Interior department also intends to raid park entrance fees to provide minimal visitor services during a shutdown, which the Government Accountability Office has already said is a clear violation of the Antideficiency Act.
Politico also reports that the Bureau of Land Management intends to designate employees who process oil and gas drilling permits as essential workers, keeping them on the job during a government shutdown despite a lack of funding.
The Center for Western Priorities released the following statement from Executive Director Jennifer Rokala:
“These shutdown plans show just how little respect Interior Secretary Doug Burgum has for America’s public lands. America’s crown jewels, our national parks, will be unprotected and at risk, even though during the last Trump shutdown, places like Joshua Tree were vandalized and the rest of America’s parks saw trash and even human waste pile up.
“At the same time, Burgum is trying to have it both ways and give oil and gas companies even more permits to drill while the government is shut down. This awful situation is President Trump’s dream for America’s public lands: exploit what you can and trash the rest. America’s public lands and the people who care for them deserve better.”
Learn more
- If the government shuts down, will the Trump administration repeat a dark chapter in park history? [Westwise]
- Interior to designate staff working on oil permitting as essential in case of shutdown [Politico]
- National parks will remain open during shutdown [Wes Siler’s Newsletter]
- White House begins plan for mass firings if there’s a government shutdown [Washington Post]
- President renews threat to cut federal jobs during shutdown [New York Times]
Featured image: Overflowing trash cans on the National Mall during the 2018 government shutdown. Photo: NPCA