As another government shutdown looms, the impacts on the Outer Banks’ most visible federal agency – the National Park Service – will depend on how long a Congressional impasse lasts and whether steps are taken by The White House to limit what operations and services have to be stopped.
The timing for a shutdown couldn’t be worse for visitors and locals who enjoy the activities available at the National Park Service Outer Banks Group’s three parks: Cape Hatteras National Seashore, Wright Brothers National Memorial, and Fort Raleigh National Historic Site.
That would mean everything from visitor centers and bathrooms to campgrounds and off road vehicle ramps will be closed, right at the height of the fall surf fishing season.
And that could mean millions of dollars in lost revenue for the entire Outer Banks from indirect visitor spending the three parks generate.
If it happens, it would be the third shuttering of most federal government operations this century.
The most recent closure lasted more than a month over the winter of 2018-19 during Donald Trump’s first term as president, and was the longest in history.
That shutdown saw rampant vandalism and littering in parks across the country, including on the Outer Banks.
The last time the federal government came this close to a shutdown was in September 2023 during President Joe Biden’s lone term.
The Park Service’s 2024 contingency plan calls for most national park sites to close entirely, cutting off access to visitor centers, campgrounds, museums, ranger programs and more.
But the National Parks Conservation Association says its not clear what plan the agency will follow, as that plan was instituted during the Biden Administration.
“It’s unthinkable that we’re once again staring down a government shutdown. But this time, the stakes are even higher. A shutdown now would leave our national parks and communities even more vulnerable.” said Theresa Pierno, NPCA’s President & CEO.
Local National Park Service officials have previously not commented on what their plans are if a shutdown happens.
With no federal government spending plan or continuing resolution in place, parks would lack the regular funds used for daily operations starting Wednesday at midnight.
The National Park Service furloughed about seven out of every eight workers during shutdowns in October 2013 and December 2018-January 2019, according to a report from the Congressional Research Service.
However, the Interior Department took different approaches to visitor access in each shutdown under presidents of different parties.
In 2013, under Democratic President Barack Obama, the three park facilities were shuttered and visitors were told to leave during the partial government shutdown that lasted 16 days.
That full closure also happened when the fall fishing season was in high gear and large numbers of sea turtle nests were inside their hatch windows from Coquina Beach to Ocracoke Inlet.
Park roads to the Cape Hatteras and Bodie Island lighthouses, beach access parking areas, and off-road vehicle ramps were blocked. The First Flight, Billy Mitchell and Ocracoke airstrips were shut down.
The closure spurred a protest in Buxton, with 100 to 150 people marching from N.C. 12 to the old Cape Hatteras Lighthouse site.
Nationally, the 16-day 2013 shutdown resulted in a loss of $2.4 million to the Outer Banks economy alone, according to a 2014 NPS report cited by the Congressional Research Service.
In 2018 and 2019 under Trump, most parks remained at least partially open with services reduced. In part, that approach relied on visitor fees, which an independent federal oversight agency said was likely illegal.
The gates were still closed to areas like the Wright Brothers National Memorial, but that didn’t stop visitors from trying to access the grounds in Kill Devil Hills.
Vehicles filled the entrance gate area along U.S. 158 on the first day before cones were put in place to block the driveway.
That shutdown lasted 35 days and was over December and January, when visitor levels are usually at their lowest.
Seven to ten staff members (mainly law enforcement rangers) of the Park Service’s 90 total employees in the Outer Banks Group at the time were working intermittently, while all other personnel were furloughed.
It was marked by vandalism and trash piling up at parks across the country, as well as incidents of people illegally driving on the Cape Hatteras National Seashore beaches, illegal camping on the beach, and isolated damage to facilities.
Volunteers coordinated by the North Carolina Beach Buggy Association emptied trash cans and picked up litter in the Seashore.
Outer Banks residents, businesses, civic organizations, and local governments stepped in to help the Park Service, U.S. Coast Guard, and other federal workers who lost their primary source of income. The Town of Manteo waved late fees on utilities and other payments, and local restaurants offered free meals and food pantries extended hours.
The shutdown delayed several projects that had been planned for 2019 in the parks. But it did not slow visitation that year, which set a new record that has since been eclipsed.
During the previous Trump Administration, NPS used fees collected under the Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act to keep parks open to visitors during the shutdown
But the Government Accountability Office later found that was likely illegal, as those fees were supposed to be used for other purposes.
“National parks are meant to have the highest level of conservation protection, and that doesn’t change because the government shuts down,” Pierno with the NPCA said. “If Congress fails to do its job and fund the government, parks may have no choice but to close their gates to safeguard our most cherished places and keep visitors safe.”
“The clock is running out. Members of Congress must come together now to keep the government open and our national parks staffed and protected,” Pierno said.
Lawmakers appear to be far divided on a plan to avert a shutdown, and The White House has threatened mass firings of federal workers if it happens.
The House in a mainly vote on party lines approved a stopgap funding measure to keep agencies open through November 21, but Democrats have blocked that measure from proceeding in the Senate.
Meanwhile, the Trump Administration told impacted agencies on Thursday to fire workers if there is a shutdown, which Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and others called an intimidation tactic that is also likely illegal if it were to happen.
So if a deal can’t be reached, there’s a good chance the chains will be up at the ramps and the doors locked at the Outer Banks’ national parks when the sun rises Wednesday morning.
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