Government Shutdown Threatens National Parks, Tourism Businesses, and OKC National Memorial Museum
The National Park Service has warned that if Congress fails to reach an agreement to avoid a government shutdown, most US national parks will close, and the popular social media campaign, Fat Bear Week, will be canceled. The closure plans include locked gates, closed visitor centers, and reduced visitor services. Thousands of park rangers will be furloughed, and there will be no trail or road condition updates. The government shutdown could also halt the agency's social media postings. Some states may work to keep their parks open, but the majority of parks will be closed due to the lessons learned from previous shutdowns, which resulted in overflowing toilets, vandalism, and depleted maintenance funds.