Amid a government shutdown, federal land management agencies — like the U.S. Forest Service, National Park Service and Bureau of Land Management — are halting a number of operations.

In Colorado, the shutdown will have widespread impacts, especially for popular recreation areas like national parks and forests in the mountains where the federal government owns the majority of the land.

“We urge the federal government to keep our national parks open and staffed, or create avenues for the state to assist in keeping parks open and protected,” Colorado Gov. Jared Polis said in a statement Wednesday. “… If Congress does not fund the federal government, it limits our ability to maintain the parks operations and will close them off for everyone to enjoy, ultimately hurting our economy, and visitors.”

As the government shutdown became a reality Wednesday, it was not immediately clear how Colorado’s busy recreation areas would be impacted. But the Forest Service, National Parks Service and Bureau of Land Management earlier this month published contingency plans for how the agencies would respond in the event of a lapse in government funding.

The plans state that federal land management agencies will keep wildland firefighters and other emergency responders on board, but will furlough thousands of other workers, impacting some visitor services.

The White River National Forest — the most visited national forest in the country — did not return a request for comment left by phone and email Tuesday afternoon asking how a government shutdown would impact services.

As of Wednesday morning, Rocky Mountain National Park remained open with limited services due to the government shutdown, but more information about the impacts at the park was not immediately available.

Federal land management agencies have already been struggling with reduced staffing amid efforts by President Donald Trump’s administration to reduce the size of the federal government, including through mass layoffs and voluntary resignations.

Ahead of the government shutdown, Trump promised another wave of mass layoffs if Democrats did not support a Republican bill to fund the government.

Thousands of workers to be furloughed, impacting services

Nationwide, the National Parks Service plans to furlough nearly 9,300 of its 14,500 employees, or about 64%; the Forest Service plans to furlough about 12,750 of its 32,400 employees, or about 39%; and the Bureau of Land Management plans to furlough 4,000 of its 9,250 employees, or about 43%.

The Forest Service could restrict access to some recreation sites and will reduce its work on hazardous fuels treatments aimed at lessening wildfire risks as a result of the shutdown, the agency’s plan states. 

The National Park Service plan states that “park roads, lookouts, trails, and open-air memorials will generally remain accessible to visitors.” Parks that collect recreation fees will use their retained balances to continue to provide basic visitor services, like bathroom maintenance, campground operations and law enforcement, according to the document.

But at parks without accessible areas, the Park Service will not operate during the lapse, the plans state. At these parks, there reportedly will be no interpretive or educational programs, trash collection, bathroom maintenance or visitor information services.

In general, if a facility or area is locked during non-business hours, it should be locked for the duration of the shutdown, according to the Park Service. Park websites and social media will also not be maintained, except for emergency communications, and there will not be road or trail condition updates.

“The National Park Service will continue to keep parks as accessible as possible during the lapse in appropriations,” a spokesperson for the agency said in a statement. “Critical functions that protect life, property, and public health will remain in place, including visitor access in many locations, law enforcement, and emergency response.”

The spokesperson did not respond to questions seeking specifics about how National Parks in Colorado would be impacted by the shutdown.

The Bureau of Land Management will “keep open as many public lands and public facilities” as possible, but at some campgrounds and recreation sites, “the full range of services may not be available including restrooms and water systems,” the agency’s plans state.

The shutdown could also impact reservations with Recreation.gov. If customers have an existing reservation during the shutdown, and the location is not fully staffed, the reservation may not be honored, according to the Bureau of Land Management. 

The Forest Service does plan to keep employees on board to implement Trump’s executive order to increase timber production, and the Bureau of Land Management will continue permitting for oil and gas, the plans state.