National Park Service

During the longest government shutdown in U.S. history, evaluations for federal research grants ground to a halt and thousands of federal scientists at agencies were sent home without pay. Many are still catching up after the 43-day pause, and some fear the ripple effects could last much longer.

The Trump Administration is using revenue from recreation fees to keep bathrooms clean and trash tidy at national parks during the shutdown. But parks are not charging fees at this time.

One22 financial assistance comes as shutdown barrels into second week.

The Great Outdoors Fund helps to fill funding gaps for public lands projects by leveraging private investment.

The National Park Service said most roads and trails are open, but most buildings are closed. Some are confused about what they’ll find when they arrive at any given park site.

Over the summer, an executive order from President Trump called for the consolidation of federal wildfire programs "to the maximum degree practicable." The secretaries of Interior and Agriculture recently released their plans responding to that and other demands – and they've garnered praise and criticism.

Park road and trails will mostly be open to visitors, but buildings and sites that can lock during non-business hours will stay inaccessible.

The Senate appropriations bill could also lift a hiring freeze and prevent future land sell-offs.

Heart Mountain will work with four former Japanese-American incarceration sites on educational programming. They’ll train kindergarten through grade 12 teachers in about a dozen states.

Consolidating wildfire response could professionalize the field and increase efficiencies, according to the expert WPR talked to. But it could also mean fewer of the collaborations that reduce the risk of destructive burns.