WASHINGTON (BRAIN) — National Park Service and Bureau of Land Management open spaces mostly will remain accessible to the public during the government shutdown that began at midnight Wednesday. Officials updated contingency plans for both agencies.
Emergency response, law enforcement, and border operations will continue on NPS and BLM lands. At national parks, roads, lookouts, trails and open-air memorials "will generally" remain accessible to visitors but parks will not provide road or trail condition updates and websites and social media will not be maintained except for emergency communications. Signs will be posted notifying visitors that only basic or no visitor services, maintenance, or other management activities will take place.
Daily non-critical BLM activities have ceased, but the BLM "will evaluate and keep open as many public lands and public facilities as possible." Visitor site operations where fees are collected will continue but their operation will be evaluated on a site basis for any contractual requirements. Efforts will be made to post signs to indicate where services are or are not available.
The 15th Outerbike Moab takes place Friday through Sunday at the Bar M trailhead that's on BLM land. Funding by the state was secured to ensure the event would still go on as planned.
