Public land managers are bracing for impact as a Congressional stalemate forces mass furloughs across federal agencies.

About two-thirds of staff across the National Park Service and one-third of all U.S. Forest Service staff will be temporarily out-of-work as a result of the government shutdown that began Oct. 1. Many of the remaining employees are classified as excepted, meaning they may be expected to work without pay until normal government functions resume. 

Despite massive reductions in staff, Glacier National Park is expected to remain open. As a whole, the National Park Service will retain 2,700 staff deemed “necessary to protect life and property” as well as 2,500 staff whose positions are not funded through annual appropriations, according to the agency’s updated contingency plan.  

Concessionaires are allowed to continue operating facilities within the park, including lodges and restaurants, but many other critical visitor services will likely be cut.  

“No visitor services will be provided,” reads the National Park Service’s contingency plan. “The National Park Service will not issue permits, conduct interpretive or educational programs, collect trash, operate or provide restrooms, maintain roads and walkways (including plowing and ice melting) or provide visitor information.” 

The contingency plan notes that National Parks websites will not provide road or trail condition updates during the shutdown. The Going-to-the-Sun Road is open in its entirety, but early snowstorms often force closures to the upper portion of the roadway in October. 

Some advocacy groups are already voicing concern about the potential harm to natural resources within the parks system. A letter published last week by the Coalition to Protect America’s National Parks urged Interior Secretary Doug Burgum to close all national parks in a government shutdown. 

“Past shutdowns in which gates remained open with limited staff have hurt our parks,” reads the letter. “Iconic symbols cut down and vandalized, trash piled up, habitats destroyed and visitor safety jeopardized. If you don’t act now, history is not just doomed to repeat itself, the damage could in fact be much worse.” 

Disruptions in the park’s operations could also affect local economies. Last year, visitors to the Glacier National Park spent about $458 million in gateway communities, supporting more than 5,000 local jobs and adding $359 million in value to local economies. 

In federal forestlands, furloughs could delay or pause timber sales, state forest management grants and wildfire prevention activities such as hazardous fuels treatments. Specific guidelines for individual forest units were still being doled out on Wednesday, according to Kira Powell, the public information officer for Flathead National Forest. Powell said she had not received guidance on whether the forest would close any recreational areas. 

Nationwide, the Forest Service plans to retain 15,644 workers “necessary to protect life and property,” 433 workers “necessary to perform activities necessarily implied by law,” and 3,569 workers whose positions are not funded by annual appropriations. The former category includes staff that fulfill activities under Trump’s executive order to expand American timber production as well as wildland firefighters and law enforcement personnel. 

Most refuges managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will remain accessible, though visitor services will be limited. Buildings will be closed to the public, per the agency’s contingency plan. 

The Bureau of Indian Affairs is expected to furlough 1,154 of its 3,126 employees. Employees in law enforcement, social services, wildland fire management, transportation and tribal government operations may be excepted or exempt.  

The agency’s Safety of Dams program, which conducts early monitoring and detection on 141 high-hazard dams across the country through the National Monitoring Center in Ronan, is excepted. Dam tenders employed through the Bureau of Reclamation, which operates the Hungry Horse Dam, will also be excepted. 

Regional Veterans Affairs offices will be closed, according to the agency’s website. Medical centers, outpatient clinics and veteran centers run by the federal agency will operate as usual and benefits will continue to be processed and delivered. 

The Social Security Administration will retain about 45,600 of its 51,825 employees. The administration will continue to review applications for benefits and issue payments and Social Security cards, according to an updated contingency plan.  

U.S. Customs and Border Protection, which operates a station in Whitefish, will retain 63,243 or its 67,792 employees. The agency’s contingency plan provided no details on which positions or activities would be subject to furlough.  

Reporter Hailey Smalley can be reached at 758-4433 or [email protected].