by: Courtney Remacle
When Congress was unable to approve an appropriations bill and budget for fiscal year 2014, the U.S. government entered a shutdown period, where thousands of federal workers were furloughed and many “non-essential” government services have ceased until a budget is approved. Among the services cancelled due to the government shutdown is the National Park Service, meaning all national parks and monuments are currently closed to visitors.
However, e-mail correspondence posted on Forbes states that
“Onshore oil and gas: Processing of oil and gas permits by the Bureau of Land Management comes to a halt. BLM will continue to monitor ongoing oil, gas, coal and other mineral operations. BLM will keep inspectors and enforcement personnel on the job for some activities, including overseeing some drilling operations and patrolling oil and gas fields ‘to make sure that theft of oil or condensate is not occurring.’”
The environmental impact of this could be severe. With the EPA and BLM operating at an extremely limited capacity during the shutdown (the EPA has furloughed 94% of its workers), there is concern about the monitoring of drilling activities and the damage that could be caused to public land if spill or other accident were to occur. Additionally, there is outrage and disappointment among many outdoor enthusiasts and environmentalists that the priority during the shutdown is to keep public lands open for oil and gas companies, and not for the public. Currently, there are 12 national parks where drilling is taking place.
Additionally, the Sierra Club estimates that the closure of national parks will affect as many as 750,000 would-be visitors every day, as well as cost communities $76 million a day in the form of lost revenue from tourism and recreation.
You can read more about the effect of the government shutdown on national parks here and here. To sign a petition to urge your member of Congress to authorize funding to reinstate the National Park Service, click here.