Just today, Yosemite National Park celebrated its 123rd anniversary of becoming a national park. However, it didn't get quite what it wanted for it's birthday. As a result of the current government shutdown, all national parks and monuments have thus far been shut down. Anyone visiting the park will be turned away by barricades and closed gates. Residents that are staying there currently have been asked to leave within the next 48 hours. Visitors that have made reservations have canceled them and are opting for refunds. While closing Yosemite is a matter of closing gates and kicking out residents, other national parks such as Santa Monica Mountain National Recreation Area will be hard to close. Some of these parks are public land, while some is private, so hikers and horseback riders will have access to some areas and not others. Now that Yosemite is closed, it is arranging a furlough for around 87% of its staff, about 21,000 people. The remaining 3,000 individuals will stay for law enforcement and emergency services. With the closure, Yosemite will be losing a calculated some $450,000 a day from fees of its visitors. This will remain in effect as long as the government does not have its budget established and can manage the parks.
http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-yosemite-birthday-google-doodle-shut-down-20131001,0,7529457.story
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