The connection between Southwest Colorado and the nation’s capital became more tangible Tuesday with the government shutdown that suspended just about all federal services.
They become more conspicuous by their absence.
Federal employees were furloughed and federal offices closed at midnight Monday after Republican and Democratic legislators couldn’t resolve a brutal fight that pitted continued government spending against repeal or delay of certain elements of the Affordable Care Act.
Entrances to national parks and monuments, including Mesa Verde and Chimney Rock, were blocked to the public Tuesday. The San Juan Public Lands Center, where Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management employees usually toil, was locked tight.
In Durango, telephone calls to federal offices brought several responses:
An immediate and continuous busy signal (Army Corps of Engineers).
A recording that told callers to leave a message (Department of Agriculture’s Service Center that includes the Farm Bureau Service and the Natural Resources Conservation Service).
A recorded message explaining that the intended recipient wasn’t at his/her desk because of the shutdown (Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, Bureau of Reclamation, Geological Survey and Mesa Verde National Park).
The U.S. Postal Service, which receives no government funding, was operating as usual.
“Keep buying stamps and we’ll continue mailing your letters,” said the voice on the phone at the post office on west Eighth Street.
The closure of Mesa Verde National Park was felt immediately.
“We’re getting cancellations already,” Dede Hodge, at the American Garden Inn in Cortez, said at 2 p.m. “We’ve had four today.”
Brian Bartlett at Baymont Inn & Suites in Cortez said it was a mixed bag there.
“Motorcoach tourists who had reservations here had to change their itineraries, but lodgers in Mesa Verde are coming here,” Bartlett said. “At the end of the day, it will probably be a wash.”
The U.S. Forest Service announced it is postponing an open house to hear potential management options for Chimney Rock National Monument until further notice. The open house had been set for Thursday.
The site of ancestral Puebloans between Bayfield and Pagosa Springs was declared a national monument by Obama on Sept. 21, 2012.
Essentially, all services provided by the Bureau of Land Management have been suspended, the agency said in a release. The only exceptions are law-enforcement and emergency-response personnel.
The BLM manages 245 million acres in which there are visitor centers, campgrounds, boat ramps and other recreation sites.
The Center for Western Priorities, citing the National Parks Conservation Association, which estimates that $30 million a day will be lost as a result of closed public lands, issued a biting statement:
“The locks on the gates will not only make for bitter memories, but will also mean that local hotels and restaurants will be empty, shops and guide services will lie dormant, and millions of dollars that communities need will be lost.
“After a decade of inability to find equal ground, balance between conservation and industrial drilling, it’s no surprise that Congress failed to achieve the simple task of keeping the lights on and doors open.”
The Center for Western Priorities advocates for a balance between energy production and conservation of public lands.
U.S. Department of Justice offices were one of the exceptions to widespread furloughs and office closures. A department contingency plan shows that 84 percent of 114,486 employees are exempt from furlough. The list includes special agents, intelligence analysts, attorneys and an other-staff category. Some categories are 100 percent impervious to cutbacks.
Jeff Dorschner, spokesman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Colorado, said in a statement:
“It is my understanding that the courts have enough moneys to operate for 15 days into a lapse of appropriation. The government has a constitutional responsibility to address the rights of those who have committed crimes as they go through the court process.
“Regarding the U.S. Attorney’s Office, matters of public safety and the protection of life and property will keep most of the criminal division and some in the civil and appellate divisions functioning.”
Court appearances in cases in which prosecutors aren’t able to get a continuance will keep courts open, Dorschner said.
“Other activities have been scaled back, postponed or canceled,” he said.
Tourism promoters in Moab, Utah, looked on the bright side, suggesting points of interest not affected by the government shutdown.
It’s unlawful to enter national parks until further notice, an email said. But it named hiking trails, recreation areas and state and county parks that are available for the outdoors-minded.
daler@duangoherald.com
