Interior Secretary Sally Jewell has reached a deal with five states that will result in the opening of several iconic national parks, including Colorado’s Rocky Mountain National Park, Arizona’s Grand Canyon, and New York’s Statue of Liberty.
The Washington Post reported on Friday that Jewell had struck deals to have states front the money to operate the parks during the federal government shutdown.
From the Post:
All five states will likely seek reimbursement from the federal government once the shutdown ends, but such payments would have to be specifically authorized by Congress.
While the Park Service had originally resisted the idea of accepting donations from outside groups or individual states to reopen sites, the Interior Department reversed course as the shutdown dragged on and state and local leaders warned that their economies were in peril. Five Utah counties declared a state of emergency after the parks’ closures.
