8 Beautiful Places You Can Only See in Pictures This Week
How the Government Shutdown is Affecting Our National Parks
It doesn’t seem possible that all 401 of our national parks could be closed at once. But that’s exactly the scenario that has been playing out this week thanks to the government shutdown. Gates are closed, roads are blocked and anyone who was already visiting or staying at any of the parks’ campgrounds or lodges as of Tuesday had 48 hours to leave.
What exactly does this all mean? Vacation plans are being ruined, small communities that serve as the gateways to these national treasures are suffering, and our most revered natural spaces are off-limits to all of us. Seriously?
While we wait for Congress to sort things out, here’s your chance to enjoy a few of the beautiful places that, unfortunately, we can only see in pictures this week…
Yosemite National Park’s closure couldn’t come at a worse time for the communities surrounding the park, which are already suffering from economic hardships as a result of a huge drop in late-summer visitors due to the recent Rim Fire. The historic Rim Fire, which has scorched more than 400-square-miles in and around the northwestern corner of Yosemite, started mid-August and closed portions of the park for long stretches as crews battled the blaze.
Photo: James Kaiser
Law enforcement officials have barricaded the road to Lee’s Ferry— the put-in point for Grand Canyon rafting trips—effectively blocking a number of groups who have waited more than a decade in some cases for their chance at a trip-of-a-lifetime down the Colorado River.
Photo: James Kaiser
Highway 26/89/191 from Grand Teton’s south boundary to the east boundary will remain open for through traffic, but signs at roadside pullouts warn visitors that recreation of any kind is not allowed.
Photo: James Kaiser
Delicate Arch is just one of more than 2,000 sandstone arches that visitors won’t be able to see as long as the government shutdown continues into October–a peak season for Arches National Park.
Photo: James Kaiser
According to park spokesperson Al Nash, October brings nearly 140,000 visitors to Yellowstone National Park. Without these visitors, nearly 35,000 people each week the shutdown lasts, surrounding communities who offer lodging, dining and other amenities, will likely take a huge economic hit.
Photo: Bartosz Wardzinski
Not only are visitors impacted by the closure of Crater Lake National Park, Oregon’s only national park, but film crews for a commercial and upcoming movie, “The Wild,” about hiking the Pacific Crest Trail, have also been shut out of the park.
Crater Lake: Zack Schnepf
October is typically one of the busiest times of year for small business owners in Moab, Utah, the visitor hub for both Canyonlands National Park, Arches National Park and many Colorado River rafting trips.
Photo: Chris Hall
Fortunately the rafting season on the Yampa and Green Rivers has already winded down for the year, but the park closure is still keeping people from seeing its famous Carnegie Quarry where more than 1,500 dinosaur fossils are on display.
Photo: James Kaiser
Think these park closures are as ridiculous as we do? Then be an advocate for the parks today and tell your senators and representatives to not only re-open our national parks, but fund them adequately.
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