The government shutdown that has forced the closure of our Joshua Tree National Park—and 400 other national parks—hurts not only park employees and visitors, but the communities surrounding the parks. Businesses in our area that cater to Park visitors are reporting dismal sales as tourists leave. Joshua Tree National Park hosts 7,000 visitors on average each day in October. Visitors to the park will have until 3 p.m. Thursday to leave the park. Joshua Tree National Park will lose more than $7600 in just entrance fees each day of the shutdown. While 15 employees will remain on duty during the shutdown to provide security and emergency services, 92 Park employees have been furloughed and another 10 concessions employees are similarly affected. Nationwide, the National Park Service stands to lose $450,000 per day in lost revenue from tours, activities, and camping. And communities across the country will lose about $76 million per day in total sales from visitor spending.
