NPS can’t justify reckless decision to keep national parks open during shutdown

America’s national parks are national treasures and world-renowned. They have inspired, educated and empowered generations of visitors. Our generation’s responsibility is to protect Yellowstone, the Grand Canyon, Gettysburg and our other incredible places and pass them on to future generations in an unimpaired state. The National Park Service (NPS) is the steward in charge of this solemn duty. Sadly, the damage that occurred to national parks during the 35-day government shutdown earlier this year showed that the leadership in the Department of the Interior and the NPS failed to carry out this duty.

When Congress asked the Government Accountability Office (GAO) if the Interior Department and NPS violated appropriations law while keeping national parks open during the government shutdown, the answer was yes. The GAO is the independent authority on these matters. NPS Deputy Director Smith should take this rebuke from GAO seriously and report the violation to Congress as required by law. Then, he should make sure the agency doesn’t violate the law again by drafting a contingency plan that protects national parks in possible future government shutdowns. Mr. Smith’s duty is put the protection of our most special places first. He cannot pick and choose which laws he follows.

Deputy Director Smith and his supervisors use of park fees to clean up ongoing damage in national parks during the 35-day government shutdown was not only a violation of law but also a violation of internal NPS procedures and guidance.

During my decades working on the legislation establishing the national park recreation fee program, there were two consistent, bipartisan objectives underpinning the fees. The first was that recreation fees were to supplement and not supplant annual appropriations. Secondly, such fees were to be used to provide, as the late NPS Director Bill Mott told me, an “extra measure of excellence” above and beyond what is provided in annual appropriations. National park fees were to enhance visitor experiences through projects and programs and were not meant for daily, park-wide trash collection which is paid through appropriated operating funds.

Recreation fee projects and programs are identified for each park and approved by regional offices. There is a process to ensure parks get these additional funds. Congress has supported this process for decades and in my experience, this collaboration has worked effectively with Republican and Democratic administrations alike. This administration is the first to bring politics into the park fee program.

Government shutdowns cause significant hardships and inconveniences for many Americans and the one that carried on for 35 days was extremely trying. Keeping national parks open, especially without enough staff to protect the incredible natural and cultural resources was a major mistake. Violating laws in order to mitigate the damage to our national parks caused by the administration’s actions is appalling. Deputy Director Smith’s opinion piece should have been an apology to Congress and the American public not a ham-handed justification for the administration’s reckless actions.

Rick Healy served on the staff of the House Natural Resources Committee for 26 years, including time as chief counsel of the committee and staff director of the Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests, and Public Lands. He also served for five years on the House Appropriations Committee where he handled the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies appropriations bill.