A person familair with national parks in Michigan said they are being hit hard by the federal government shutdown. Lack of funding and layoffs are delaying park projects.
Tom Irvine is the executive director of the National Parks of Lake Superior Foundation. He said that workers have either been furloughed or forced to work longer hours. The skeleton crew that remains is made up of law enforcement and people in charge of facility upkeep.
Public headquarters buildings that would typically welcome visitors have been closed since October 1, the beginning of the shutdown. Visitors can explore the open nature areas on their own.
“I hate to say at your own risk, because that makes it sound dangerous,” Irvine said. “But they’ll need to be self-sufficient, because there’s not going to be a plethora of rangers available to answer questions or provide directions.”
Irvine said park employees have a lot of questions about the parks right now. “No one does well with the uncertainty of their livelihood, not getting paid, or not knowing when or if they’ll even be going back,” he said. “It’s a high-stress time for park service.”
The National Parks Lake Superior Foundation (NPLSF) works with five national parks to raise money to help support them. “Oftentimes we fill the voids in funding that federal resources don’t cover,” Irvine said.
With budget and staffing cuts, the organization had to step up into a more active role.
The foundation typically spends the fall season involved in maintenance and preservation projects of cultural and resource sites within the national parks. But now, that active planning process is not happening, Irvine said.
“That’s difficult. It’s difficult for us to plan ahead from a human capacity standpoint as well as financial capacity,” Irvine continued. “The fall is typically busy, with planning ahead and finishing projects that didn’t get done over the summer, and really all that’s been wiped out. If it didn’t get done, it’s not getting done.”
Irvine said that National Parks have contingency plans for shutdowns, with staff well equipped to deal with the present circumstances. But he said this shutdown is a little more painful, because the parks were already dealing with hiring freezes and reductions in workforce.
The National Parks are receiving support from the public amidst the shutdown, Irvine said. He said there has been a sense of urgency for individuals, private foundations, and other support mechanisms to step forward.
“National Parks are really near and dear to just about everyone in this country, and concerns about their long-term viability really affects people.”
