Fort Pickens and the other free areas of the Gulf Islands National Seashore are closed for the remainder of the federal government shutdown.
The gates to the Fort Pickens area of the Gulf Islands National Seashore were closed on Oct. 2, even though the park was open for the first day of the shutdown on Oct. 1.
Social media post from campers at Fort Pickens indicated that the park had canceled all camping reservations from Oct. 1 through Oct. 30.
A spokesperson with the Gulf Islands National Seashore told the News Journal that there were no public updates to provide on Oct. 1, and directed all further inquiries during the shutdown to the National Park Service’s Washington, D.C. office.
While Fort Pickens and Johnson Beach were open for the first day of the shutdown, it now appears those areas won’t open again until the government is reopened.
The National Park Service’s contingency plan for the government shutdown indicated that fee-collecting areas could remain open to the public if the fees were sufficient to fund the minimum staff required to keep the area operational.
The U.S. Department of the Interior, which oversees the National Park Service, sent the following statement to the News Journal.
“The Department of the Interior will keep critical services open and running for the benefit of the American people despite efforts by Congressional Democrats who are trying to close our parks, stop U.S. energy production, and prevent our first responders, like our law enforcement, from keeping our streets safe and our wildland firefighters from fighting wildfires,” the statement said. “The Department hopes Congressional Democrats will get serious and agree to fund the government because every day this shutdown continues, it is hurting the American people even more.”
According to the NPS’s contigency plan, essential services like security, emergency response and other activities are essential to protect the parks and the public will continue. Under the plan, 9,296 NPS employees would be furloughed while 5,204 employees would remain at work.
This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Fort Pickens and Gulf Islands National Seashore close for government shutdown
Reporting by Jim Little, Pensacola News Journal / Pensacola News Journal
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
