Offgrid Survival
October 11, 2013
The federal government, who shut the national parks after claiming they didn’t have the money to keep them open, is now sending in Park Rangers to patrol the parks 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Sadly, the Rangers are not being sent in so visitors can enjoy these parks, there being sent in to arrest anyone who tries to enter them.
Earlier this week we reported on the Vietnam Vets who were arrested for visiting a war memorial in New York City; now we’ve learned that 21 tourists were just arrested for hiking in the Grand Canyon National Park.
Over 7 Million Visitors Shut Out of the Parks & $750 Million in Visitor Spending Lost
According to the Coalition of National Park Service Retirees (CNPSR), during the last 10 days of the government shutdown over 7 million people have been shut out of the parks, causing $750 million in visitor spending to be lost.
According to the CNPSR figures, the shutdown has resulted in:
- 715,000 visitors lost daily (based on October 2012 national park attendance numbers).
- $76 million in lost visitor spending per day.
- $450,000 in lost revenue each day that would go directly to the National Park Service ($300,000 in entrance fees and $150,000 in other in-park expenditures, such as campground fees, boat rentals, etc.)
The actual dollar amount is likely much larger, since gateway communities and entire states that depend on national park tourism have lost the opportunity to cater to visitors who’ve been forced to cancel trips.
Federal Government sending Armed Goons to Close Private Businesses who don’t comply with Shutdown Orders
The Pisgah Inn, a privately run hotel that happens to be located on federal land, was warned by the National Park service that their hotel would not be allowed to open during the shutdown. After refusing to close, the National Park service sent armed rangers to block the hotels entrance and has since gated and stationed 24/7 armed guards at the gates.
Here is the owner’s story that he shared earlier this week.
The Emergency Election Sale is now live! Get 30% to 60% off our most popular products today!
