SpiteHouse: Not just NPS, closures by U.S. Forest Service too

Sunset Crater, Coconino National Forest

While the closures and the Barrycades at facilities at parks managed by the National Park Service have garnered much attention, the U.S. Forest Service, which is a part of the Agriculture Department, has been active for the all the wrong reasons during the partial government shutdown too.

For instance, the Arizona Daily Sun, in an op-ed, noted that private campgrounds on national forests--which receive no federal funding--have been forced to closed.

This is what happens when there are spiteful people working at the White House. Like the Interior Department, the Agriculture Department is part of the executive branch of the federal government.

From the Daily Sun:

— Yet the Forest Service, citing a "lapse in federal government funding," orders the private operators to close their facilities anyway.

Maybe we've missed something, but if the cost to run a facility on federal lands isn't in the budget, what difference does it make whether a budget for the department that contracts out management of those lands has been passed?

We can only surmise, along with others, that the shutdown of campgrounds and day use areas on the Coconino National Forest in the Flagstaff and Sedona region operated by Recreation Resource Management is for political, not financial, reasons. The more the public is denied access to recreational facilities on public lands, goes the theory, the more pressure will be brought to bear to break the budget stalemate and reopen them.

As a political strategy inside the Beltway, that might be a winner. But in cities like Flagstaff and Sedona, surrounded by national forests and parks, it's a surefire loser. It’s bad enough that sites run directly by the Forest Service — Griffith Springs, Palatki, Bell Rock Vista, Red Rock Visitor Center, among many — are closed for lack of funds, But when West Fork, Lockett Meadow Campground, Grasshopper Point and Red Rock Crossing are shut down at the height of the foliage season just to prove a point, we call it a violation of the public trust.

And yes, Barrycades have been erected at these forests--which are owned by the people. Campgrounds on national forests have been shut in New Hampshire, Wyoming, California, and very likely many other places.

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