Glacier closes as shutdown hits home
<p>U.S. National Park Service employees Brian Paul, left, and Rick Holyman set up blockades at the West Entrance of Glacier National Park on Tuesday morning. Oct. 1, 2013 in Glacier National Park, Montana.</p>
Barriers went up at the West Entrance late Tuesday morning as Glacier National Park officially closed down.
The closure, prompted by the federal government funding shutdown, affects all visitor facilities at Glacier, including visitor centers, campgrounds, trails and roads.
There is no visitor access and all park entrances are closed, according to Denise Germann, Glacier’s public affairs officer.
Campers have 48 hours to leave the park.
The closure means 250 Glacier National Park employees are on unpaid furlough.
A skeleton crew of 25 workers will remain on duty in the park for security, emergency and other services, Germann said.
Glacier is one of 401 national parks affected by the shutdown, but the National Park Service isn’t alone in feeling the pinch.
The U.S. Forest Service is undergoing a similar reduction in staff.
Forest campgrounds and offices will close but trailheads will remain open.
Similarly, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service facilities are closed.
Those include the National Bison Range at Moiese and other national wildlife refuges as well as waterfowl production areas. Public recreation, including camping and hunting, is prohibited during the shutdown.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has closed down boat ramps, recreation areas and campgrounds at Libby Dam.
For Glacier Park visitors, the shutdown comes at an inopportune time — this is the first fall in years that Going-to-the-Sun Road is open to motor vehicles on the west side all the way to Logan Pass.
Although snowy weather had closed the road temporarily, the park had planned to plow and reopen the road to motorists before the government shutdown intervened.
Lodges, hotels and motels in Glacier Park have already closed for the season but owners of private property in the park still will have access to their property.
Some reconstruction work on Going-to-the-Sun Road will continue because it’s funded through the Federal Highway Administration.
The Glacier National Park website and social media sites will not be maintained and will be down for the duration of the shutdown.
For updates on the shutdown, visit http://www.doi.gov/shutdown/index.cfm.