Date: April 8, 2013
Contact: Tom Leatherman, 925-838-0249 ext. 6601
Effective April 22, 2013, Eugene O’Neill National Historic Site and John Muir National
Historic Site are required by “sequestration” (a series of automatic, across-the-board
permanent spending cuts) to reduce their annual budget by five percent. The parks must
absorb those cuts in the remaining six months of this fiscal year that ends September 30,
2013. The federal law imposing sequestration requires that each national park take this
cut.
For Eugene O’Neill National Historic Site, this amounts to a $34,000 reduction from a
budget of $682,000. The park cut travel, training, overtime and supply purchases, and
reduced the number of seasonal and permanent employee positions to meet the required
spending reduction.
For John Muir National Historic Site, this amounts to a $51,000 reduction from a budget
of $1,013,000. The park cut travel, training, overtime and supply purchases, and reduced
the number of seasonal and permanent employee positions to meet the required spending
reduction.
While we take the actions necessary to comply with sequestration, the parks remain open,
welcoming visitors and continuing to protect the resources entrusted to our care.
Following are the major actions being taken to implement the cut:
Staffing (Note: 95 percent of the parks’ budgets pay for salaries and fixed costs like
utilities)
• Unfilled Permanent Positions: 3
• Unfilled Seasonal Positions: 4
Park Operations: Reduced staffing will reduce park operations in the following ways:
• Visitor Services: Reservations for tours at Eugene O’Neill National Historic
Site, previously offered on Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Sunday, are only
being taken on Fridays. Saturdays will continue to be available for visits without
reservations. Groups interested in special considerations may contact the park for
options.
• John Muir National Historic Site will be open Wednesday through Sunday,
being closed Mondays and Tuesdays, due to staffing shortages.
Maintenance:
Upkeep on the grounds at both sites, such as mowing and pruning of vegetation, will be
minimal, resulting in occasions when the landscape may appear unmanaged.
About the Eugene O’Neill National Historic Site: Eugene O'Neill, the architect of modern
American theater and the only Nobel Prize-winning playwright from the United States,
lived at the Tao House in Danville, CA, from 1937 to 1944. There he wrote his final and
most successful plays: The Iceman Cometh, Long Day's Journey Into Night, and A Moon
for the Misbegotten.
About the John Muir National Historic Site: Created in 1964, John Muir NHS preserves
the home, landscapes, and gravesite of conservationist and national park advocate John
Muir. Mt. Wanda preserves 326 acres of grasslands and oak woods that Muir set aside
more than a century ago.
About the National Park Service: More than 20,000 National Park Service employees
care for America’s 401 national parks and work with communities across the nation to
help preserve local history and create close-to-home recreational opportunities. Learn
more at www.nps.gov.
