WASHINGTON, DC (KOAA) — National parks in Colorado and throughout the US are expected to remain open with skeleton crews as the federal government shuts down Tuesday night.
According to the National Park Service (NPS) contingency plan released by the Department of the Interior (DOI) and reviewed by News5, NPS sites not behind closed doors are set to remain open despite the lapse of appropriations.
The details are similar to how the NPS operated during the last shutdown in President Trump’s first term at the end of 2018.
About 64% of the NPS, 14,500, staff will be furloughed, according to the DOI documents.
This comes as the parks service is already facing decreased staffing due to efforts earlier this year to slash the federal workforce by President Trump and Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
Governor Polis expressed interest in having Colorado step in to help continue the operations of national parks.
The DOI documents stipulate parks may enter agreements with state and local governments or other third-party entities to help fund parks during the shutdown.
But park advocates, like the National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA), are urging the government to close national parks by locking doors and gates, if they have them.
“NPCA will not stand by and watch history repeat itself,” said Theresa Pierno, President and CEO for NPCA. “As a federal government shutdown looms, the National Park Service still isn’t being told who will be able to staff the parks and more importantly, who will not be allowed to. Guidance shouldn’t direct park staff to swing the gates open and walk away. We know what happened last time park staff were forced to leave parks open and unprotected, and the impacts were disastrous.”
The park advocacy organization pointed to what happened to multiple national parks during the last shutdown, when trash and human waste overflowed at various locations, park infrastructure was damaged from illegal off-roading and slow-growing Joshua Trees were chopped down, amongst others.
“The damage was devastating and, in some cases, permanent. If the federal government shuts down, unfortunately our parks should too,” said Pierno.
The contingency plan documents show essential service personnel like law enforcement and fire protection will remain on duty.
Visitor centers and buildings that can be locked during non-business hours are expected to be closed for the duration of the shutdown. Parks without accessible outdoor areas are not expected to operate.
The skeleton crews will be paid for by collected recreation fees, where available, to maintain restrooms, trash collection, road maintenance, campground operations, emergency operations and staffing gates “as necessary to provide critical safety information,” the documents said.
Additional and clarifying information is expected to be communicated to the public during the first day of the shutdown.
The first Trump administration also funded parks with fees during the 2018 shutdown, but the Government Accountability Office reported the DOI had violated the Appropriations Law and the Antideficiency Act by using recreation fee dollars.
“NPCA opposes the use of fee dollars and here is why: The Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act, the law allowing parks and other federal lands that meet certain requirements to retain fee dollars, are intended to supplement, not supplant annual operation and maintenance appropriations and to enhance the visitor experience,” the organization said in a statement.
CONCERN FOR PARTISAN MESSAGING FROM THE GOVERNMENT
Meantime, a Colorado National Park Service employee, who wished to not be identified, shared an email that went out to all DOI staff, expressing concern about the overt political nature of the messaging.
The employee said they believe it’s a violation of the Hatch Act, a 1939 federal law that restricts political activities of government employees to ensure federal programs are administered in a nonpartisan way.
“Democrats are blocking this Continuing Resolution in the U.S. Senate due to unrelated policy demands. If Congressional Democrats maintain their current posture and refuse to pass a clean Continuing Resolution to keep the government funded before midnight on September 30, 2025, federal appropriated funding will lapse,” the email said, in part.
Other federal agencies similarly posted clear partisan messaging ahead of the October 1 shutdown, including the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, which has a home page showing the following message: “The Radical Left in Congress shut down the government. HUD will use available resources to help Americans in need.”
Email Senior Reporter Brett Forrest at brett.forrest@koaa.com. Follow @brettforrestTV on X and Brett Forrest News on Facebook.
Brett can also communicate via encrypted apps like Signal. Due to the sensitive nature of ongoing reporting from federal actions, he is willing to take steps to protect identities.
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