Visitors to Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks will not be greeted by employees today.
Park law enforcement and firefighters are working. But visitor centers are closed, as are other buildings that typically shut after business hours.
The Jackson Hole Chamber of Commerce is encouraging visitors to prepare for reduced services.
“Please remember to be respectful of the parks, remain conscious of decreased amenities, adhere [to] all closure signs, and show consideration for essential staff who are working hard to keep the parks accessible and safe,” the Chamber said in an Oct. 1 email.
Federal workers, including those with the parks, the Bridger-Teton National Forest and the National Elk Refuge will not receive paychecks until the government reopens. And some could lose their jobs altogether, according to a White House memo.
This is the first government shutdown since the country’s longest ever, lasting just over a month from December 2018 to January 2019 during President Trump’s first term. Then, national parks remained open and largely unmanaged except for law enforcement, leading to damage and trash at several locations. Department of Interior plans updated on Sept. 30 instruct parks to dip into entrance fees to stay open. In 2019, the Government Accountability Office found that move violated federal law.
Earlier this week the National Park Conservation Association and other advocacy groups called for national parks to close in anticipation of the shutdown.
Last week, one Bridger-Teton employee said staff at the forest are “very stressed” and a former forest supervisor said fired employees within the U.S. Forest Service would be “devastating.”
As of Wednesday morning it is unclear when the government may reopen.
Local officials wish for the park to remain open for visitors and oppose staffing reductions.
A letter written by the Chamber and Jackson Town Councilors and Teton County Commissioners voted to sign on Oct. 1 urges Wyoming’s Congressional delegation to avoid further “reductions in force,” or layoffs.
