As national parks open up about horror stories about the 2013 government shutdown some Park Service personnel are claiming it’s purposeful.
As previously reported by The Inquisitr , the government shutdown did not leave national parks open even though Yellowstone National Park was still on fire .
All 401 of the Federal national parks were officially closed to Americans although a limited number of national park personnel were still kept on staff for the necessities. Even the Grand Canyon was turning 18,000 people away per day and losing $200,000 in business profits. But President Obama announced states may keep national parks open if they fully fund the cost of doing so.
Yellowstone National Park has lost $9 million so far and the overall American economy is estimated to have lost $750 million. But some seniors trying to visit Yellowstone National Park wished they’d kept the national parks open if only for their safety. Due to the heavy snowfall, they were trapped near Yellowstone National Park for days and not allowed recreation (or to “recreate” as an armed guard put it). Even when allowed to leave, the seniors weren’t allowed to stop for a restroom break during a 2.5 hour trip.
One foreign group was mistreated so badly they thought they were being arrested. They were locked in a Yellowstone National Park hotel under armed guard and allegedly verbally abused.
According to a Park Service ranger, any national parks open to the public are being politicized by the 2013 government shutdown :
“It’s a cheap way to deal with the situation. We’ve been told to make life as difficult for people as we can. It’s disgusting.”
For some, the controversy over keeping national parks open reminds people of how a White House email instructed a Federal agency “to make sure the cuts [from the automatic sequester] are as painful as President Obama promised they would be .” In reference to the 2013 government shutdown , President Obama “told reporters Tuesday that he would not allow emergency funding because he wanted to keep the ‘political heat’ on Republicans.”