Utah’s government will pay for three of the state’s five national parks to remain open with basic visitor services during the federal government shutdown caused by a budget dispute between President Donald Trump and Congress over funding for a border wall.
Utah Office of Tourism Managing Director Vicki Varela said she arranged for funding the state’s most popular national parks, Zion, Arches and Bryce Canyon, during a call with National Parks Service superintendents on Thursday and finalized the details Friday. Gov. Gary Herbert has authorized a total of $80,000 to fund the three parks for the rest of the year, as needed, Varela said.
States that choose to give funds to keep parks operating will not be reimbursed, the National Parks Service has said.
As part of the Department of Interior shutdown contingency plans, all national parks and monuments would be open to visitors while the government stalls, but it wouldn’t provide visitor services, like bathrooms, trash collection and road and facility maintenance. Capitol Reef and Canyonlands National Parks, which Varela said have low visitor turnout in the winter, will be open during the shutdown under those conditions.
Varela said she is proud that Herbert allocated funds to the parks because it is important that people can access and enjoy the parks.
“Many people have organized trips with their families traveling from all over the world to experience the parks, and we just want to make sure they have the experience that they planned,” Varela said.
The national parks — and the tourists they bring — are also an economic boon for the state.
During the 2013 federal government shutdown, the state gave more than $1 million to keep the national parks open.
from The Salt Lake Tribune http://bit.ly/2A9y8Ta
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