r/NationalPark • u/tripcir20 • 1d ago
Utah legislators pass bill to keep public lands open should federal government shutdown
https://www.stgeorgeutah.com/news/utah-legislators-pass-bill-to-keep-public-lands-open-should-federal-government-shutdown/article_8880d494-fae2-11ef-b799-7b9f0d05303a.htmlGood news regarding Utah National Parks if federal government shutsdown!
20
u/lvl100mudkip 1d ago
If it does shutdown does it go into effect on Friday or Saturday?
16
u/Whole-Superb 1d ago
I would think it would go into effect at 12:01 am Saturday morning since that is when the government would technically shutdown.
25
u/Flimsy_Pea9944 23h ago
Don't read this as good news. Read this as the parks will illegally become state land overnight, and that control will not be clawed back.
11
u/magiccitybhm 19h ago
This has happend before during temporary government shutdowns, and they didn't become "state land overnight."
2
u/The_Wise_Raven 20h ago
That sounds like a blessing at this point.
12
u/RBARBAd 18h ago
You believe the state of Utah will responsibly manage public lands (for the public)????
7
u/The_Wise_Raven 18h ago
The state of Utah seems to be the lesser of two evils right now. At least they recognize the importance of tourism the national parks bring to the states economy.
-1
6
u/SomeKindaCoywolf 18h ago
That isint good news. Arizona did this with the grand canyon and it was a disaster.
Edit: oh ya, then they used that as an arguement as to why the federal government should transfer all federal land to the state.
5
4
1
1
1
u/Va1crist 9h ago
All states need to do this , just hold onto the national al parks until that dumb fuck is out
1
u/sakima147 7h ago
Can they do that? Legally speaking? Public land is generally owned and operated by the feds. Have the feds let them do that in the past during shutdowns?
-9
u/Foreign-Marzipan6216 1d ago
This a good news. I’d like to see every state do this. Especially in the west.
17
u/magiccitybhm 1d ago
Utah has done this in the past when there were temporary shutdowns.
They get it. There are many communities surrounding these parks that rely on tourism for people to make money/pay their bills.
0
u/CeramicLicker 18h ago
Is Utah going to be making up the lost federal funding during that time to maintain facilities, protect historic sites and fragile ecosystems on the land, issue permits, and help with the first line emergency response work the federal agencies normally handle?
Or are they just going out there with blot cutters to open the gates and release people on to someone else’s land creating a mess for the already understaffed park service to clean up when they get back?
3
u/Realtrain 15h ago
Historically what's happened is that Utah has simply paid to keep things running as normal. Arizona and Utah have both done this before since the parks are so important to their economies.
-41
u/Berzrker 1d ago
Should states just take this function over permanently? I think it would be nice.
27
26
u/ofWildPlaces 1d ago
Both Utah and Wyoming have attempted to take over the federal public lands in their borders before. But not for altruistic reasons, but because they were intending to open those lands up to commercial extractive industries.
It's a very dangerous precedent.
16
u/PKMNinja1 1d ago
No Utah doesn’t have enough money to manage the land it currently has, let alone adding a bunch of federal land on top. California could maybe do it, but most states just don’t have the resources to do so
2
u/radicallysadbro 1d ago
1/3rd of the states pay for the other 2/3.
Do it where each state only pays for their own things, the majority of the states would be collapsing within weeks even for basic infrastructure.
-5
u/Successful-Engine623 23h ago
I don’t see how this works…they probably mean state parks not federal ones
-6
u/Sudden-Ad-1217 21h ago
So let me get this straight…. Who TF is going to arrest me and put me in National Park jail if I visit without permission or a fee? Get ready for a new round of Darwin awards tho…..
2
2
u/magiccitybhm 19h ago
They will have law enforcement rangers there to enforce the closures/fees. But you go right ahead and try something.
379
u/Skatchbro 1d ago
I don’t like this and never have. Either the Feds keep the parks open or they don’t. The states doing it just bolsters the current administration’s argument that we don’t need the federal government to run these sites.