News: How The Shutdown Will Affect National Parks, Grand Canyon North Rim Reopened, and More

Parkography

RV Miles Network

Science, Nature, Places & Travel, Society & Culture:places & Travel, Society & Culture, History

4.9 • 870 Ratings

🗓️ 1 October 2025

⏱️ 12 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

This week’s National Parks & Public Lands News Roundup covers the impending federal government shutdown and its affect on National Parks, an expansion of coal mining on federal lands, the re-opening of the north rim of the Grand Canyon, vandalism at Gettysburg, and more. Find the Slinky Stove that's right for your next adventure at: https://www.slinkystove.com/?ref=PARKography Join the PARKography Facebook group to discuss this episode and more: https://www.facebook.com/groups/parkography Check out our other channels focused on RV travel: @RVMiles @RVMilesPodcast 00:00 Introduction01:48 Impact of Government Shutdown on National Parks02:37 State Responses and Historical Context03:30 Concerns and Appeals from Park Officials05:44 Sponsor Message: Slinky Stove06:22 Grand Canyon North Rim Reopening08:18 Vandalism at Gettysburg National Military Park09:01 White Nose Syndrome Detected in Bats10:02 Federal Land Coal Leasing Announcement10:26 National Park Service Concessionaire Opportunities11:41 Conclusion

Transcript

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0:00.0	I'm Jason Epperson. This is parkography, and it's time for the latest in National Park and Public Lands News.
0:07.4	First up, as of this recording, Tuesday afternoon, September 30th, the federal government is looking like it will shut down tonight at 1201 a.m.
0:16.9	So I'm going to share what we know about what will happen at national parks and other federal lands so that you can plan your travels and visits.
0:24.6	If a shutdown does not happen or is over by the time you see this episode, you can just use the chapter markers to skip ahead to the next story.
0:32.6	Most of the federal departments have made their shutdown plans public at this point.
0:38.1	Unfortunately, that does not include the Interior Department, which handles most of the federal
0:42.6	land agencies, including the National Park Service and the Bureau of Land Management.
0:47.1	The Department of Agriculture, which handles the U.S. Forest Service, also has not released its
0:51.8	plans.
0:52.7	There is currently a plan for the National Park Service on the
0:55.7	books, but it was developed during the Biden administration and will most likely not be followed.
1:01.2	But we can go off past history. Presidents have wide discretion to declare how a shutdown will
1:06.5	be handled and what would be closed. Many remember that under the Obama administration,
1:11.7	a shutdown closed virtually all federal lands to public access. In contrast, during the last
1:16.9	shutdown during the first Trump administration, which lasted 35 days in December of 2018 and January
1:23.4	of 2019, parks remained open to the public while 80% of the National Park Service staff was
1:29.1	furloughed. Government executive is reporting that about 50% of Interior Department is expected
1:35.5	to be furloughed this time around and only about a quarter of the Department of Agriculture,
1:40.1	but which of those sub-agencies like the National Park Service and the Forest Service
1:44.2	are reduced by what is anyone's guess at this moment.
1:48.2	Regardless, starting Wednesday, services in parks will begin to be reduced.
1:52.9	Some facilities may run on current funding temporarily and then gradually have to furlough
	...

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