“The report of my death was an exaggeration,” is a well-known – and often misquoted – remark by Mark Twain. Recently, the San Juan Mountains Association was the subject of a similar misunderstanding. While corrected, it brought to light the need to explain how the government shutdown impacts public lands across the country, and particularly, our corner of it.
Anyone working for the federal government – or as its partner – knows that no two shutdowns are alike. This particular shutdown has even the most tenured federal employees scratching their heads. Land managers have been given a fair amount of discretion on how to implement closures. If you are traveling, and you are on federal lands, you will likely encounter a variety of scenarios. In some locations, everything may appear open and normal. Other areas may be completely closed, and in some places, you might find a mix of amenities closed – or open. For instance, a campground may be open, but the water or even the vault toilets are shut off and locked.
The reasons why certain locations may be open and others closed really has to do with the type of funding land managers have available to them. For instance, in Utah, the state tourism office foots the bill – at least for a little while – to keep the state’s five national parks open because it recognizes the significant economic impact tourists visiting those national parks provide to the state. Other locations may be digging into discretionary funds they receive from non-government sources such as campground fees to keep amenities open for a while.
As a government contractor, SJMA currently operates the retail outlets at public land offices throughout the San Juan Mountains, and we currently staff front desks for the San Juan National Forest Supervisors Office and two district offices, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Gunnison field office, and the Canyon of the Ancients National Monument visitor center. With those offices closed, our visitor information services staff cannot work. If they aren’t working, SJMA cannot bill the federal government for those services, so those employees have been temporarily laid off. The shutdown affects six of SJMA’s 22 current employees. They are eligible and have been encouraged to apply for unemployment while the shutdown continues. As soon as the government reopens, they will hopefully return to their positions.
This challenge is not unique to SJMA. Most, if not all, visitor centers at national parks and federal public land agencies, like the U.S. Forest Service, the BLM and the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service across the United States, contract with nonprofit organizations to operate visitor centers and gift stores. It’s economically efficient, and nonprofits prove more nimble than our government partners.
Where SJMA differs from many of our nonprofit colleagues across the country is that we do more than visitor information services. As an education and outreach organization, visitor information services is just one of SJMA’s three main pillars.
Stewardship is a second pillar and is supported by a mix of some federal funds as well as support from many donors and sponsors. Fortunately, we wrapped up the busy season with most of our stewardship crews and volunteer stewardship opportunities in September, so this department has largely been unaffected.
Conservation Education is our third pillar, and aside from having to adjust for some closures, it is unaffected by the federal shutdown, and in fact, the education team has an array of programs operating across the entire San Juan region.
In this time of uncertainty, we encourage you to be a “Steward of the Land.” If you plan to visit public lands, be prepared for anything. You will likely encounter closures, especially if the shutdown drags on, which could mean loss of access to vault toilets, trash receptacles, potable water and other amenities. Please be prepared to pack out all your waste and trash, avoid biking on muddy trails, and have enough supplies to care for yourself or others in the event of an emergency. While SJMA is still operating, our normal channels of communication are not. You can reach us at info@sjma.org with any questions.
Stephanie Weber is SJMA’s Executive Director. Learn more at sjma.org.
