Shutdown Hits NC National Parks: Services Slashed, Staffing Cut

WASHINGTON — With the federal government now shut down, the National Park Service (NPS) faces significant operational challenges. The agency is proceeding under a contingency plan that keeps many parks open in a limited capacity, but the reductions are already raising serious concerns about visitor safety, park maintenance, and environmental protection.

Partial Access, Fewer Services

Under the plan, roads, trails, lookouts, and open-air memorials in many parks remain accessible to the public, but buildings, indoor exhibits, visitor centers, and gated parking areas are being shuttered.

Of roughly 14,500 National Park Service employees, more than 9,200 are being furloughed. Only a skeleton crew deemed “essential” or funded through non-annual appropriations continues working.

Those who remain are tasked with emergency response, law enforcement, fire protection, and protecting life and property. Routine operations such as permitting, interpretive programs, trash collection, restroom maintenance, roadway and walkway upkeep, and visitor outreach are largely suspended.

When facilities or grounds normally remain locked outside business hours, such as visitor centers or gated lots, they will stay locked for the duration of the shutdown.

Risks to Parks, Wildlife & Visitors

Park advocates and former officials warn that keeping parks open without sufficient staff invites damage and safety hazards. During prior shutdowns, vandalism, illegal off-road driving, overflowing trash, and degradation of sensitive ecological zones were documented.

Because fall is a high visitation period in many parks, issues like wildfire risk, human-wildlife interactions, and resource stress are magnified under reduced oversight.

Financially, the shutdown threatens steep revenue losses. The National Park System could lose up to $1 million daily in fee revenue, while communities that depend on tourism could lose tens of millions more per day.

Some parks are considering or already relying on agreements with states, local governments, or third-party donors to sustain critical services during the funding lapse.

North Carolina Sites Impacted

In North Carolina, the effects are being felt at iconic destinations including the Blue Ridge Parkway, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, and Cape Hatteras National Seashore. These areas are among the most visited in the country and draw millions of tourists annually.

The Blue Ridge Parkway, which stretches 469 miles through Virginia and North Carolina, remains open to drivers, but visitor centers, restrooms, and campgrounds are closed. The Parkway is especially popular in October, when leaf season attracts thousands of travelers.

Great Smoky Mountains National Park, straddling the border of North Carolina and Tennessee, is also seeing reductions in services, including limited law enforcement and no routine trash collection. The Smokies are the most visited national park in the U.S., meaning the strain on remaining staff could be significant.

At Cape Hatteras and other coastal sites, closed facilities and reduced staffing may affect beach safety, access to lighthouses, and storm preparation as hurricane season continues.

Gateway communities in Western North Carolina, the Outer Banks, and around Raleigh and Asheville rely heavily on visitor spending linked to these parks. Officials worry that extended shutdowns could ripple into local economies at the height of fall tourism.

Outlook

How long the shutdown lasts will determine the scale of disruption. A short funding lapse might be managed, but a sustained shutdown risks mounting damage to park infrastructure, ecosystems, and the safety of visitors who expect reliable services.

As negotiations in Congress continue without clear resolution, officials are bracing for consequences — not only for federal employees but for the lands and communities that depend on national parks.