Sedona AZ (September 25, 2015) – The following is from the desk of Theresa Pierno, Chief Operating Officer National Parks Conservation Association, and submitted to the editor by a Sedona, Arizona SedonaEye.com subscriber:

It’s hard to believe that just two years after the federal government shut down for 16 days, we could once again face the same fate as soon as next week. If Congress cannot reach an agreement on federal spending by October 1st, our more than 400 national parks will close, from Yellowstone to the Statue of Liberty. And these closures would have serious implications for park visitors, staff, and thousands of neighboring businesses.

A few mind-boggling facts from the 2013 government shutdown:

• there was an estimated decline of nearly eight million visitors in October, mostly due to the shutdown
• there was a total loss of $414 million in visitor spending in local communities
• more than 21,000 National Park Service staff were furloughed (86% of the workforce).

The facts are shocking but it’s the real-world implications that tell the story.

Employees at local businesses were sent home due to lack of tourists. Weddings and school trips were canceled. Park rangers who signed up to serve the public were instead instructed to turn people away.

A 2015 shutdown would be another sad chapter in the struggle to adequately fund national needs, including national parks.

Congress should be celebrating the national parks’ 100th anniversary by making them a national priority. Lawmakers should be restoring park ranger positions after five years of decreased funding and investing in repairs to crumbling roads and buildings. The last thing our parks need is another devastating closure.

You can help by writing to your members of Congress and urging them to pass a 2016 spending bill that will not only keep national parks open but will also ensure they have the funding they need to recover from years of damaging underfunding.

Take Action: Tell your members of Congress to keep national parks open and provide robust, sustainable funding for their centennial year.

Thank you for taking action on behalf of our national parks.

Sincerely,

Theresa Pierno
Chief Operating Officer
National Parks Conservation Association

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