Rene Ferrer makes the nearly 40-mile trek into Everglades National Park roughly twice a month to go glamping in the eco-tents off the coast of Flamingo Campground — a hotspot for regular campers, boaters and first-time visitors to South Florida.
These past two weeks, however, one of Ferrer’s favorite pastimes has been disrupted as national parks across the nation languish amid the ongoing government shutdown.
“It’s sad,” Ferrer told WLRN by a lake near Flamingo Road on Saturday. “The green areas at Flamingo are very poorly maintained." The previous week the eco-tents and bathrooms were "dirty," he said, because "there was nobody to clean them.” He was unable to book eco-tents online this past weekend.
READ MORE: Government shutdown hits short-staffed national parks and refuges in South Florida
Ferrer still remembers conditions more than six years ago when the government faced a record 35-day shutdown during the first Trump administration. There was "an abandonment" in the cleanliness and upkeep of the park, he recalled.
It's concerns like his that have led the National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA) to call on the Interior Department to close national parks down until Congress agrees on a deal to fund the government.
The advocacy group says that parks are being stretched thin by relying on a “skeleton crew” since more than 9,000 workers have been furloughed, and are losing up to $1 million a day due to a lack of visitor fees.
Marisa Carozzo, the NPCA’s Senior Coastal & Wildlife Program Manager, told WLRN that keeping the park open under these conditions can progressively threaten the safety of visitors and wildlife at the park.
“The longer the shutdown stretches on… the risks become more dire for damage to our parks,” Carozzo said. “Whether that stems from inadvertent actions… or what we saw during the last government shutdown, some intentional ones like poaching or vandalism.”
Carrozzo added that the lack of visitor fees charged at the gate may also cause deeper problems that the National Park Service may struggle to recover from.
“[The revenue] is absolutely crucial to help provide visitor services,” she said. “Many parks use visitor fees to also pay staff time as well. So the longer the shutdown goes on… the farther behind the park service is in an already underfunded environment.”
Keeping everybody safe
Visitors and researchers alike along the Anahinga Trail noticed these issues on Saturday.
Brent Beringhaus, 36, drove his family down from Coral Gables to see baby alligators. He told WLRN that crossing the entrance gate for free felt like he was “stealing.”
“We weren’t giving back to support the parks like we normally would and… felt guilty,” Beringhaus added.
His family also said that they saw just one park ranger patrolling the trail as they were exploring it.
“It probably should be shut down if the government is not active and the people aren’t here to patrol it and keep everybody safe, and keep the animals safe and protect the wildlife,” Beringhaus said.
Jenna Palmisano, a University of Central Florida researcher, was at the park Saturday studying rattlesnakes. She told WLRN that fewer park rangers in the area could put her more at risk if something goes wrong, and it also results in less oversight on roadkill.
Even if the park re-opens quickly the NPCA’s Carrazzo said further legislation will be needed to help restore a national park system that has lost 25% of its workforce since January.
“We saw over 3.5 million visitors for our South Florida national parks, and that equates to $540 million in economic output, so this is clearly a priority for the American people,” she said. “We need to see the staffing replenished. We need to ensure that we have the science staff to monitor the progress of Everglades restoration.”
The Senate prepares to return Tuesday following seven failed attempts to advance the House-passed funding measure. It will mark exactly two weeks since the government closed, with some congressional leaders indicating that they are still far from a deal.
