Lake Mead will stay open in government shutdown; Red Rock uncertain

Las Vegas Review-Journal

6 years ago

A fee booth at Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area scenic loop is closed Monday, Jan. 22, 2018. While the gates were open, the fee booths, visitor center and bathrooms were closed due to a partial federal government shutdown. (K.M. Cannon Las Vegas Review-Journal @KMCannonPhoto)

The fee booths at Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area scenic loop are closed Monday, Jan. 22, 2018. While the gates were open, the fee booths, visitor center and bathrooms were closed due to a partial federal government shutdown. (K.M. Cannon Las Vegas Review-Journal @KMCannonPhoto)

The visitor center at Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area scenic loop is closed Monday, Jan. 22, 2018. While the gates were open, the fee booths, visitor center and bathrooms were closed due to a partial federal government shutdown. (K.M. Cannon Las Vegas Review-Journal @KMCannonPhoto)

A ‘closed’ sign is seen at the entrance way to the Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area visitor center in Las Vegas, Sunday, Jan. 21, 2018. The visitor center was closed because of the government shutdown. Chitose Suzuki Las Vegas Review-Journal

The partial government shutdown could close federal parks and offices and complicate the holiday plans of Las Vegas Valley residents, tourists and public employees. Then again it may not.

Without a continuing budget resolution from Congress, funding lapsed at midnight EST Friday for a number of federal departments.

President Donald Trump has threatened to veto any spending bill that doesn’t include billions of dollars for his promised border wall. The Republican-controlled House passed a budget measure that included money for the wall, but White House negotiators left the Capitol and the House and Senate adjourned without a spending deal late Friday.

During the last lapse in federal funding in January, the roads and campgrounds were kept open but the fee stations, visitor centers and some bathrooms were locked for three days at Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area and Lake Mead National Recreation Area. The Las Vegas interagency office of the Bureau of Land Management, Forest Service and Fish and Wildlife Service also was closed and nonessential employees were placed on furlough.

Spring Mountains Visitor Gateway

According to a tweet late Friday night from Go Mt Charleston, the Spring Mountains National Recreation Area Visitors Gateway on Kyle Canyon Road will be closed on Saturday because of the partial shutdown.

Lake Mead to remain open

Lake Mead spokeswoman Christie Vanover said the park service plans a similar approach this time around: Visitors can still access the 1.5 million acre park and commercial marina and tour operators can stay open if they want to, but there will be no janitors, trash pickup or other services normally provided by the agency.

December is typically one of the quietest months of the year at Lake Mead, though the popular park still sees between 350,000 and 400,000 visitors during the final month of the year, Vanover said.

A shutdown would also impact national wildlife refuges in the area, though not until next week, according to Dan Balduini, Las Vegas spokesman for the Fish and Wildlife Service.

Ash Meadows, Desert, Moapa Valley and Pahranagat national wildlife refuges will all open as scheduled this weekend, but Balduini said those visitor centers will close down starting Dec. 26, should the shutdown last that long. Visitors will still be allowed to access the refuges but no services will be available, he said.

The visitor centers at area refuges were already slated to close Monday and Tuesday for the Christmas holiday.

It’s unclear what the partial government shutdown will mean at Red Rock, which is administered by the BLM. Local bureau officials referred all media inquiries about the shutdown to Interior Department headquarters in Washington, D.C. A spokesman there responded with a link to general shutdown contingency plans for various Interior offices and agencies, but those plans do not address operations at specific parks.

Both Red Rock Canyon and Lake Mead closed down completely in October 2013, when congressional squabbling over the Affordable Care Act brought the government to a standstill for 16 days. Law enforcement rangers at both parks cleared visitors from the trails and campgrounds and issued citations to 17 people for ignoring the closure order.

Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey announced Friday that the Grand Canyon National Park will remain open in the event of a government shutdown.

A shutdown — particularly one that drags on for weeks or months — could have drastic impacts beyond tourism and recreation.

Housing vouchers at risk

If a shutdown stretches into February, for example, it would threaten to displace some 11,000 low-income families in Clark County receiving Housing Choice Vouchers, a program commonly known as Section 8.

That’s because federal money is used to pay the private landlords that rent families enrolled in the program. A delayed payment in rent, even due to a shutdown, could allow landlords to start eviction proceedings, Southern Nevada Regional Housing Authority executive director Chad Williams said.

“If the government shutdown lasts only a month our agency will be able to maintain our operations at full capacity,” he said.

Airport federal services unaffected

Business at McCarran International Airport won’t be affected by a shutdown, as the Federal Aviation Administration and Transportation Service Administration are considered essential services, said Christine Crews, McCarran spokeswoman.