Econ Tracker

Sequestration will hit national parks hard

Posted: Feb 25, 2013 4:36 PM by MTN News
Updated: Feb 26, 2013 10:13 AM

WASHINGTON, DC - National Parks bring in over $30 billion a year, and the looming sequestration deadline could cause problems for parks across the board - including Yellowstone.

Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar and National Park Service Director Jonathan Jarvis, held a conference call Monday, calling the potential cuts detrimental to the National Park system.

Salazar says all parks have submitted plans to cut budgets by 5%, and says parks will see delayed opens and cuts to services to parks nationwide.

In Yellowstone National Park, budget cuts would total $1.75 million. YNP officials say a cut this size over the next seven months of the fiscal year, will be felt in every operation of the park.

Public Affairs Officer Al Nash says many people don't realize how many services the park provides. Nash says officials made proposed cuts across the board.

"Everything a government agency does we do here. We are 911, we are fire, we are a water treatment facility. We have honestly looked at everything and we know that a cut in our budget of this size at this point in time would have impacts that visitors would see," said Nash.

The Tourism and Recreational Research shows that 63% of all first time visitors to Montana visit either Glacier National Park or Yellowstone National Park, and of those tourists, 78% come to Yellowstone.