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National Parks' Closure Being Highlighted In Congressional Budget Impasse

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National parks are being wielded to build opposition to the congressional budget impasse that could lead to the first shutdown of the federal government since 1995-96.

In a release sent wide and far, U.S. Rep. Ed Markey, the ranking Democrat on the U.S. House Natural Resources Committee, raised the spectre of a shuttered Yosemite National Park in railing against Republicans he maintained are driving the government closer to a shutdown.

“This weekend, Yosemite might turn into ‘NOsemite’, as our national treasures would close their gates and send American families away,” said Rep. Markey. “House Republicans are telling the American families who would like to walk in one of our national parks this weekend to ‘take a hike.’ These forced closures could devastate the already fragile local economies of small communities which depend on national parks for tourism dollars.

“For House Republicans, the Tea Party is more important than the Tetons,” said Mr. Markey.

President Obama and Democrats have proposed significant and responsible budget cuts in an effort to meet House Republicans more than half way, the congressman's staff maintained.

Comments

I am sorry, but I have been to CAHA many, many times, actually got married on the beach there and have NEVER had any problems with access to anything.  If I do find that there is a closure, I go somewhere else.  Yes some areas are closed and in that way, access is restricted, but the park as a whole is more open than "closed".


Samsdad1, according to the approved ORV management plan, there will be 27.9 miles of year-round
designated ORV routes on the seashore, 12.7 miles of seasonal routes,
and 26.4 miles of vehicle-free miles.

Doesn't that provide enough -- more than 54 miles out of the 72-mile-long national seashore -- certainty and beach miles as to where you can go and gain access? According to the seashore website's Frequently Asked Questions (which you can download here), it seems quite a bit of certainty, although not all, can be predicted:

"Based on recent years’ nesting activity, it is highly likely that prescribed shorebird protections will significantly restrict and temporarily preclude ORV access to Bodie Island Spit, Cape Point, portions of South Beach, Hatteras Inlet Spit, North Ocracoke Spit, and South Point Ocracoke during the portions of the spring and summer. Popular pedestrian beaches, including Coquina Beach, all village beaches on Hatteras Island, and Ocracoke
Day Use Area will be open to pedestrians; and many additional miles of beach will be open to ORV access throughout the summer."

Additionally, the FAQs say....

"While temporary resource closures to protect nesting shorebirds and sea turtles are expected to occur between mid-March and mid- to late-August, including at some popular sites, there will be many, many miles of beach open to both pedestrian and ORV access on any given day of any given week during those months. For example, on July 8, 2009, there were approximately 22 miles of beach open to ORVs and pedestrians, another 26 miles open to only pedestrians (that was a total of 48 miles of open beach!), while 19 miles of beach were closed or impractical to access due to Cape Hatteras National Park Service U.S. Department of the Interior Cape Hatteras National Seashore resource protection closures in place at the time. By late August, most of the resource closures had been lifted."


Hi. I'm the selfish one - remember me? I want to eat and not have to worry about paying my rent just to accommodate a group of amateur social engineers thousands of miles away who want to attack women's health services and public radio, other regressive social agendas.

I sit here in a small and isolated community whose entire annual survival depends on the tourist trade to the park we live at and support. Hundreds of people - the town averages between 800 and 2000 residents, depending upon the season - ensure that they can buy heating oil and food and clothes and such by the work they do over a short summer tourist season. Forbidding the rangers and curatorial staff and administrative and other NPS staff from doing their work to get ready to receive the public is a malignancy foisted upon the town and park. We are a small park, but one of hundreds nationwide. Multiply out the human factor.

That is just the Park Service, which is one of the smallest budget items around the federal sandbox. It's just like libraries and kittens though - easy low hanging fruit for the social engineers.

Now let's take a look at some of the other 'selfish' ones. Like the soldiers, marines, airmen, and sailors, who will be fighting the nation's war for the next two weeks but are scheduled to only get paid for one week. I don't see Congress putting their own funding on hold, and see ZERO sacrifice on their part.

Decades ago I was a card carrying conservative. I bought the theories about "this should" and "people just have to blahblah" and such nonsense. Thank goodness, I became aware of the fact that when theories hit flesh, people bleed. I developed a conscience.

It is time for more people to realize the human factor, develop a conscience, and get over their social theories. Fix this!


This is the Most sad thing that I Heard of. There are Millions of families that are taking vacation and have been working all year to be able to afford a vacation. The thing about the National & State parks give the families that are  just getting bye to be able to take them on VACATION. Why not take all the politicans and CUT there pay down and make them see how it is to Just make ins meat. There are other ways to make budget cuts. This is sad


I am another English man who is due to visit a number of the National Parks starting early May.  I and my other half expect to spend a fair number of dollars during our visit - this in addition to the already booked hotels etc.  Can the US afford not to have my money and the that of others on the tour?
Having visited the US many times (Alaska, Hawaii, the major cities from Maine to Florida, from Seattle to San Diego, and from Houston to Chicago) I can see no alternatives for us within the USA if I have to cancel because the things I wish to see are no longer available.
And no, as suggested earlier, Canada isn't a possible alternative because we've visited from the Maritimes to Vancouver Island.


We have a business right outside of Point Reyes National Seashore. We have had almost 6 months of unusual bad weather- lots of rain, and cold. It is hardly letting up.  Now that we are getting some sunny days, people are starting to come out. If the park gets shut down, it will really hurt.  There is not too much more that we can take. Fragile is a good word for it.


It sounds like the republocats need to stop funding the war and fund our national park service! Everyone is protesting in Wisconsin and we need to be standing tall outside of Exxon. Too much waste and abuse! We are all victims!


Really, I'm sorry but we own the National Parks. Its our money that pays for them and we have the right to go into the parks because they are public lands. I'll be glad to get a no trespassing ticket because it won't stand up in court. Its time the corrupt politicians need to do whats right for the taxpayers. I simply will not stand up for this kind of BS, the president is just trying to make this a sticking point to get his baby way. Just cut some fat God knows there is a lot of that in his budget, instead of cutting what we want to do and spend our time. Closing parks like Yosemite which makes money shows you just how corrupt this president is.


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