36 CFR 1.5 (a)(1) - General Closures – All public and employee facilities and services in Harpers Ferry National Historical Park will be closed on Tuesday, June 3, 2025, due to Potomac Edison’s scheduled repairs to an electrical substation that provides power to the park and surrounding communities.
All facilities, including public restrooms, exhibits, offices, and the park visitor center will be without power from 8 am to 4 pm on June 3, 2025. Due to the closure of employee restrooms, the park’s shuttle bus service will not operate that day. Park landscapes, trails, and other outdoor amenities will remain open and accessible to the public.
These closures are necessary for the maintenance of public health and safety and for the protection of cultural resources. Lighting, ventilation and air conditioning systems, and most communication systems will be inoperable, creating safety risks for the public and employees. For the security of museum collections, buildings housing them will remain closed. The power disruption across the entire park cannot be reasonably mitigated.
Given the temporary nature of this closure, the National Park Service determines publication as rulemaking in the Federal Register is unwarranted under 36 C.F.R. § 1.5(b). This is consistent with hundreds of earlier partial and temporary park closures or public use limitations, the legal opinion of the Office of the Solicitor, and judicial adjudications. Mahoney v. Norton, No. 02-1715 (D.D.C. August 29, 2002), plaintiff’s emergency motion for injunction pending appeal denied Mahoney v. Norton, No. 02-5275 (D.C. Cir. September 9, 2002) (per curiam); Picciotto v. United States, No. 99-2113 (D.D.C. August 6, 1999); Picciotto v. United States, No. 94-1935 (D.D.C. September 9, 1994); Picciotto v. Lujan, No. 90-1261 (D.D.C. May 30, 1990); Picciotto v. Hodel, No. 87-3290 (D.D.C. January 26, 1988); Spiegel v. Babbitt, 855 F.Supp. 402 (D.D.C. 1994), aff'd in part w/o op. 56 F.3d 1531 (D.C. Cir. 1995), reported in full, 1995 US App. Lexis 15200 (D.C. Cir. May 31, 1995).
Pursuant to 36 C.F.R. § 1.7, notice of this public use limitation will be made on the park's webpage, social media, and via a media advisory to key external stakeholders and local media outlets. The closure will be physically marked by signs at primary entry points and areas within the park.
Pursuant to 36 C.F.R. § 1.5(c), this determination is available to the public upon request.
/s/ Tanya M. Gossett
Superintendent
Harpers Ferry National Historical Park
