What Does a Government Shutdown Mean for Outdoor Recreation

Photo credit: Billy Onjea

At midnight, Congress failed to reach a spending deal, and the U.S. government shut down. While most public lands will remain open, shutdowns can have a big effect on public lands and the land management agencies that steward them. 

Over the summer, the House and the Senate each advanced appropriations bills. On the Senate side, the appropriations process is proceeding in a pretty normal, bipartisan way, whereas on the House side, things are proceeding in an (also pretty normal) partisan way. The two chambers ultimately didn’t reach a deal before the government funding deadline on September 30th, and lawmakers failed to pass a short-term continuing resolution (CR) to keep the government open.

While the ostensible reason for the shutdown is disagreement over extending healthcare subsidies, it also reflects a general frustration among Democrats that Republicans have not helped to meaningfully rein in the administration as it refuses to spend money that Congress has appropriated, institutes large-scale layoffs and Reductions in Force (RIFs) without Congress’s input, withholds already-awarded grant funds, reorganizes federal agencies, and generally strains against Congress’s constitutional role of setting spending.

What does this mean for public lands? Many public lands, including most National Forests and BLM lands, typically remain open during a shutdown. As of this morning, the Department of Interior has also ordered that National Park gates remain open. However, most public lands do not have staff, visitor services, bathroom maintenance, search and rescue, and other crucial services. Outdoor recreationists getting outside should recreate responsibly, pack out their trash, follow Leave No Trace principles, and behave more cautiously than usual.

Before 2019, government shutdowns always included National Park closures. This often was met with political consequences when Americans were outspoken about their frustration at seeing public lands close. Americans love public lands, and closing them has real impacts on people who have traveled long distances to visit, on guiding businesses, on gateway communities, and on people who have once-in-a-lifetime permits.

However, in 2019, when public lands were left open without staff, they were subject to considerable damage, including vandalization, overflowing toilets and trash, and effects on trails and vegetation. Because public lands are already short-staffed and low on resources this year, we are concerned that leaving them unstaffed will have real consequences for these places.

“Government shutdowns put our public lands in an impossible position. Keeping National Parks, in particular, open without staff risks long-term harm, while closing them cuts off access for people and communities who depend on them. Congress needs to move quickly to pass appropriations bills that fully fund public lands and the people responsible for their stewardship,” said Louis Geltman, Vice President for Policy and Government Relations at Outdoor Alliance.

Lawmakers should prioritize passing appropriations bills to reopen and fully fund the government, safeguarding public lands and the people who care for these shared places. Outdoor Alliance supports the Senate’s bipartisan Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies funding bill, which would bring needed stability to federal land management agencies and ensure that popular recreation and conservation programs continue as Congress intended.