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Contact: John Dell'Osso, 415-464-5135
Point Reyes Station, California – Because of the shutdown of the federal government caused by the lapse in appropriations, the National Park Service (NPS) has closed all 401 national parks, including Point Reyes National Seashore. All visitor facilities including the Bear Valley, Lighthouse, and Ken Patrick Visitor Centers, the Point Reyes Hostel, four backcountry campgrounds, and roads—except for Highway One, Sir Francis Drake, and Bear Valley Road, a thru way—as well as the Clem Miller Education Center are closed. The park will remain closed until the government reopens. Superintendent Cicely Muldoon said that park visitors in all overnight campgrounds and the Point Reyes Hostel will be given until 3 pm Pacific Daylight Time on Thursday, October 3 to make travel arrangements and leave the park. In addition, all park programs and special events have been canceled, including: six school groups and over 200 school children this week, reintroduction of Showy Indian Clover (a federally endangered species), Point Reyes National Seashore Association (PRNSA) Field Institute classes, and one wedding. Point Reyes National Seashore hosts 8,000 visitors on average each day in October; nationally, more than 715,000 visitors a day frequent the National Park System. Visitors spend about $90,000,000 a year in the communities around Point Reyes National Seashore. Gateway communities across the country see about $76 million per day in total sales from visitor spending that is lost during a government shutdown. In Point Reyes National Seashore, 90 employees are on furlough because of the shutdown. Twenty-four employees remain on duty, providing security and emergency services. Nationwide the shutdown has also furloughed more than 20,000 National Park Service employees; approximately 3,000 employees remain on duty to ensure essential health, safety, and security functions at parks and facilities. About 12,000 park concessions employees are also affected. Because it will not be maintained, the National Park Service website will be down for the duration of the shutdown. NPS.gov has more than 750,000 pages and 91 million unique visitors each year. For updates on the shutdown, please visit www.doi.gov/shutdown. -NPS- |
Last updated: February 28, 2015