Amid the federal government shutdown, several national parks may be reopening this weekend, including five national parks and three national monuments in Utah, the Washington Post reports, as the Obama administration said Thursday that they would allow some states to open their parks long as they fund operations themselves.
Since Oct. 1, all 401 national park units have been closed, according to Yahoo! News, including Yosemite, the Grand Canyon and Zion, with more than 200,000 National Park Service employees currently furloughed.
As Utah's $7 billion tourist economy is currently in jeopardy, Republican Gov. Gary Herbert signed a deal late Thursday in which he wired $1.7 million to the U.S. Interior Department, enough money to keep Utah's national parks and monuments open for 10 days, and the state can buy additional days as needed. Governors in at least four states have been asking for permission to reopen their parks and monuments, including Arizona, South Dakota and Colorado.
Democrat Montana Gov. Steve Bullock, however, recently told the Independent Record that he is not willing to follow suit and have the state fund its own national parks and monuments, and is instead urging the federal government to put an end to the shutdown.
"When I say that it's long past time to open up the government and end this reckless and job-killing shutdown, I mean the entire government - benefits for the families of service members killed in combat, 'open' signs at Social Security offices and resumed use of our national parks," Bullock said.
Wyoming Gov. Matt Mead stated that he would also not allow the state to use its own funds to reopen its national parks and monuments.
"Wyoming cannot bail out the federal government and we cannot use state money to do the work of the federal government," a Mead spokesman Renny MacKay said Thursday.
Rep. Doc Hastings, R-Wash., chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee, told Yahoo! News that he believes the Obama administration is playing "political games" when it comes to national parks.
"Why now, after more than a week of refusing to allow states to pay to keep national parks open, is the Obama Administration suddenly reversing course?" Hastings asked. "It appears they are truly just making this up as they go along."
