More than 35 former National Park superintendents are urging that the parks be fully closed in the event of a government shutdown. Among them, Acadia's former superintendent Sheridan Steele.
Steele said there would be no staff on duty to handle trash or clean restrooms, to prevent damage to grounds and habitat by visitors who go off trail or provide updated safety information.
It's a difficult decision, he said, especially since October is a peak time for fall foliage.
"That's one of the most popular times to visit national parks like Acadia, and it's just really unfortunate to disrupt visitors, but we have to do it, I think, in order to protect both the visitor and the parks," Steele said.
Unless a funding bill is passed, the government will shut down at 11:59 tomorrow night.
Steele ran Acadia National Park for 12 years before he retired in 2015. He said when parks remain open during government shutdowns, many key services aren't available to visitors — such as the reservation system for visitors at Acadia's Cadillac Mountain.
"So then it would be back to the kind of gridlock on top of Cadillac and the unhappiness of visitors who are caught up in traffic jams and so forth," Steele said.
He said the staffing at Acadia is already thin this year due to staff reductions and budget cuts, and that could cause more problems if the park stays open during a shutdown.
The non-profit Friends of Acadia said it is preparing to adapt to guidance for how the park will operate during a shutdown.
The group's Stephanie Clement said it isn't advocating for parks to stay open or close but trying to prepare for any possibility.
She said if the park is partially open, it raises safety concerns especially with so many visitors travelling to the area to see the fall landscapes.
"So the fact that we still have a large general population here could create additional concerns with people not coming as fully prepared as they should into the park," Clement said.
But she said fully closing parks can have economic impacts for the surrounding area as visitors cancel trips.
