#ShutdownStories

Three weeks ago, on December 22, the United States government shut down. Among the affected agencies are the National Park Service and the Smithsonian. The Smithsonian, using excess funds from a prior year, remained open until January 1. The Park Service ceased operations, but kept some sites open as per the current administration.

The effects on our nation's parks has been devastating. Already underpaid rangers are furloughed, with no indication when they will be back to work. Some Americans are using the shutdown to avoid paying entrance fees in western parks. Trash is overflowing. A campground at Joshua Tree National Park was shut down because of human excrement.

This afternoon, the National Park Service announced it would use money held in reserve from visitor fees for park upkeep during the shutdown. This money, reserved for future park projects (possibly including the $11 million maintenance backlog) will instead go to upkeep - meaning trash collection, restroom cleaning, and snow removal.

The National Parks Conservation Association estimates that over $6 million in entrance fees has been lost due to the shutdown, about $400,000 per day. Three people have died.

The line to peek in at the Liberty Bell around 3pm on Sunday, January 6. Photo my own

Here in Philadelphia, foot traffic in Old City is lighter than usual for a sunny Sunday. A small line extended into Independence Mall from tourists peeking into the Liberty Bell pavilion through a window. Two Philadelphia police officers are stationed in front of Independence Hall.

Visit Philadelphia donated $32,000 to reopen Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell Center for three days between Christmas and New Year's Eve. A youth group cleaned up the Mall yesterday, before continuing to the National Mall today.

A few attractions in the immediate area are still open - Carpenters' Hall is operated by the Carpenters Company of the City and County of Philadelphia, and the Museum of the American Revolution, National Constitution Center, African American Museum in Philadelphia, and the National Museum of American Jewish History are privately operated. However, these don't drive tourism. Independence Hall does.

Few people in Philadelphia will die because Independence Hall is shut down. But the damage being done to the Park Service by the current administration may be impossible to bounce back from.