Plans to keep America’s national parks open amid the government shutdown face challenges as the National Park Service (NPS) furloughs more than 60 percent of its staff.
The Trump administration announced its contingency plans for the parks Tuesday night, just hours before the federal government officially shut down. It determined that “park roads, lookouts, trails, and open-air memorials will generally remain accessible to visitors.”
Under the plan, parks that collect fees will use them to provide “basic visitor services” including maintaining restrooms, collecting trash, maintaining roads and campgrounds, law enforcement and emergency operations.
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