You won't get this close to Mount Rainier until the government shutdown ends. All national parks, including Rainier, are closed becuase of the federal funding lapse brought on by Congress.
Katie Campbell
Here's a rundown on what the BLM, FWS, NOAA, NPS and other federal agencies known by their TLAs and FLAs (Sorry - three-letter-acronyms and four-letter-acronyms) are up to ... and no longer up to in the Northwest due to the federal government shutdown:
NPS (National Park Service): All the parks in the Northwest -- Oregon's Crater Lake and Washington's Mount Rainier, Olympics and North Cascades -- are closed. Specifically that means:
- Visitor centers and other facilities will be closed.
- Education programs and special events will be canceled.
- Permits for special events will be rescinded.
- Guests staying in hotels and campgrounds will be notified of the closure and given 48 hours to make alternate arrangements and leave the park.
Similar shutdown policies are in place for national monuments managed by various federal agencies. In the Northest, that means the Hagerman Fossil Beds and Craters of the Moon in Idaho; Cascade–Siskiyou, Oregon Caves, Newberry Volcano and John Day Fossil Beds in Oregon; and Mount St. Helens, Hanford Reach, and San Juan Islands National Monument in Washington.
Park services that remain in operation:
- Law enforcement including the U.S. Park Police and emergency and disaster assistance.
- Firefighting and monitoring.
- Border and coastal protection and surveillance.
- Limited management of ongoing projects that are funded from non-lapsing appropriations.
- Access to through roads.
NOAA (The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration): As the Northwest News Network reported, the federal science agency NOAA plans to recall two West Coast-based research ships in mid-cruise. Via email, a NOAA spokeswoman says the NOAA ship Rainier will take five days to return to its homeport in Newport, Oregon from Alaska. The Fairweather, another large survey and research ship, is being recalled to Newport from California waters.
USFS (U.S. Forest Service): Visitors centers are closed. And many of the campgrounds that would have remained open in the fall are now closed. The exceptions are those facilities -- campgrounds and lodging such as Mount Hood's Timberline Lodge -- that are operated by concesessionaires. The Forest Service has its contingency plan for the shutdown posted online.
BLM (Bureau of Land Management): Essentially all services provided by the Bureau of Land Management will be suspended, with the exception of law enforcement and emergency response functions. The BLM in Oregon and Washington will furlough 1,967 of its approximate 1,994 employees during the funding lapse. After the initial shutdown procedures are completed, the BLM will maintain a total of 27 excepted employees with an additional 142 employees on call.Suspended activities and services will include:
Non-emergency Abandoned Mine Land and hazardous-materials mitigation;
Processing of oil and gas drilling permits;
Processing of lease sales, permits and other non-emergency authorizations of onshore oil andgas, coal and other minerals;
Permits and approvals for renewable energy and other rights-of -way issuances;
Endangered Species Act and cultural clearances;
Range management restoration;
FWS (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service): Will suspend mostprograms and operations, including public access to all National WildlifeRefuges and all activities on refuge lands including hunting and fishing.
Main impacts to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service from the lapse inappropriated funding include:
All 561 National Wildlife Refuges are closed to public access.visitor centers and other buildings are closed.
All activities on federal lands and in public buildings arecanceled. This includes hunting and fishing activities on refuge lands.
No permitting work or consultations will occur with respect tothe Endangered Species Act, Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act, theConvention on Trade in Endangered Species, the Lacey Act or the NationalEnvironmental Policy Act.
The shutdown will affect more than 7,000 employees, whoare furloughed until an appropriation is passed.
Employees and others may not volunteer their services on behalfof service functions or on federal lands.
Fish and Wildlife Services and programs that will remain operational fall into thefollowing exempted categories:
Programs financed by sources other than annual appropriations.
Activities expressly authorized by law.
Activities necessary to protect life and property.
Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration and Sport Fish Restoration.
Natural Resource Damage Assessment Fund activities
Refuge Law Enforcement emergency operations
Firefighting emergency operations
Care and feeding activities at hatcheries and captive breedingfacilities.
-- David Steves
