"...their children are as the leaves of the trees, which the winds are spreading over the forest."Thomas Jefferson was right; the American people have spread far and wide since the days of Lewis and Clark, but the vigor of the sublime has not diminished. National parks today still preserve the vast beauty of America, yet our parks program is one of the most underfunded in our government today.
The across-the-board cuts of sequestration already hurt the National Park Services earlier this year. Huffington Post reported that budget for the NPS drastically reduced by $153.4 billion resulting in cutting programs and a hiring freeze, leaving 900 jobs unfilled. With the looming government shutdown this Tuesday, National Park Services is already preparing for the serious furloughs of almost 22,000 park service employees according to the LA Times. On top of that, government shutdown would lead to a closure of about 401 national parks. National parks would be forced to operate on a "day-use" basis, and expect overnight visitors to leave within 48 hours.
Could we imagine what Lewis, Clark, or Jefferson would think if they could be here now? What once was to them the vigorous spirit of a brand new nation, has found itself on the bottom of the government budget totem pole. Budgetary reforms are destroying the last sanctuaries of American wilderness, but Congress will continue to sit by idle unless we as a nation begin to make these places a priority.
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