The federal government has officially shut down for the first time in more than six years, after Republicans and Democrats in Congress failed to reach a deal over extending funding before the Oct. 1 deadline. That means halting all federal services except those deemed “essential.” Until Congress can come to an agreement, hundreds of thousands of federal employees will be furloughed or working without pay. Furthermore, the Trump administration is threatening mass firings in the coming days.
It’s unclear how long the shutdown will go on. Only a handful of previous shutdowns have lasted more than two weeks. But the most recent federal shutdown, which occurred in 2018 under the first Trump administration, was the longest in history, lasting 35 days.
Federal agencies have released contingency plans, laying out what the shutdown will mean for their employees and operations. Here’s a breakdown of what’s expected to happen at agencies that manage much of the nation’s public lands. Even as tens of thousands of staff are furloughed, parks will largely remain open and oil and gas permitting will continue. Advocates warn this approach will do lasting ecological damage to public lands.
NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
Nearly two-thirds of the National Park Service’s 14,500 workers will be furloughed during the shutdown — but parks, trails and open-air memorials will largely stay open. Buildings and areas that are normally locked outside of business hours will be closed and agency leadership can choose to close particularly sensitive areas.
Parks can use the recreation fees they’ve collected to keep offering basic services like restrooms, trash collection, and road maintenance in the areas left open — echoing the Trump administration’s policy during the last government shutdown. (A Government Accountability Office legal opinion later said that practice was unlawful.)
The National Parks Conservation Association estimates that national parks will lose up to $1 million in fee revenue every day of the shutdown — and gateway communities could lose up to $80 million in visitor spending.
But the NPCA warns that leaving parks open with limited staffing could lead to irreparable environmental and cultural damage. During the 2018-19 shutdown, when the federal government took a similar approach, petroglyphs were vandalized at Big Bend National Park. Illegal off-roading damaged fragile ecosystems at Death Valley and Joshua Tree national parks, and overflowing human waste and trash forced Sequoia and Kings Canyon to close.
“The administration is once again putting our national parks and visitors at risk, effectively directing staff to open park gates and walk away,” NPCA president Theresa Pierno said in a statement. “It’s not just irresponsible, it’s dangerous.”
In the meantime, nearly 10,000 national park employees will be furloughed. As the administration threatens further staffing cuts, it’s possible some of those jobs won’t come back at all. That would mean adding to cuts at an already diminished agency: NPS has lost nearly a quarter of its permanent staff since January.
BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT
The Bureau of Land Management says its 245 million acres of public lands will largely remain open to the public, but the agency is pausing most activities except those it has deemed “necessary for the safety of human life or the protection of property.”
BLM will furlough approximately 2,400 of its 9,250 employees, according to its contingency plan. Those working on fire suppression, law enforcement, border operations and emergency response are directed to continue work. So are staff managing wild horse and burro holding facilities.
“The administration is once again putting our national parks and visitors at risk, effectively directing staff to open park gates and walk away. It’s not just irresponsible, it’s dangerous.”
Oil and gas permitting will move forward, as will inspections at oil and gas and logging operations. And BLM staff responsible for processing oil and gas permits, coal mining leases and “other energy and mineral resources necessary for energy production” will stay at work.
“(Interior Secretary Doug Burgum) is trying to have it both ways and give oil and gas companies even more permits to drill while the government is shut down,” said Jennifer Rokala, executive director of the Center for Western Priorities.
BLM says it will “keep open as many public lands and public facilities as possible” and continue operations at visitor sites that collect fees. Whether or not individual visitor centers stay open will be determined on a case-by-case basis.
Campgrounds will stay open, but restrooms and water services won’t necessarily be available, and the agency warns that it won’t be able to guarantee that campground reservations will be honored during the shutdown. Things like trash collection and restroom maintenance at fee-collecting sites will continue “while funds are available.” Volunteer activities will stop — and furloughed staff won’t be allowed to volunteer their labor.
FOREST SERVICE
The Forest Service is furloughing nearly 13,000 of its 32,390 employees. The agency estimates it will take about five days to shut down activity on its more than 193 million acres of land — including 154 national forests and over 500 ranger districts.
The Forest Service contingency plan involves closing hundreds of remote recreational sites and indicates that public access to recreation sites will be “reduced.” But, it says, “management and maintenance” of Forest Service lands for safety and use will continue — including public activities that don’t require consistent employee oversight.
Staff deemed essential include employees focused on wildfire management, disaster response and infrastructure protection. But hazardous fuels treatments, including prescribed burns, will be reduced, and state grants for wildfire preparedness could be delayed. The agency also warns that the ability of state and local fire departments to train firefighters and get needed equipment could be impacted. Reimbursements to state, local and tribal law enforcement working with the Forest Service could also be delayed.
Meanwhile, timber activities will be allowed to continue under President Trump’s executive order focused on expanding timber production. According to the agency’s plan, the decision about whether to pause timber sales and restoration projects will be made on a case-by-case basis.
The plan allows Forest Service employees to continue working on research whose findings would be invalidated by a pause in measurements or maintenance.
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