Federal shutdown would close many Ariz. parks

If your weekend getaway involves a trip to the Grand Canyon, you may have to reschedule. This weekend’s potential government shutdown would temporarily close all national parks and monuments. Funding is set to run out at midnight Friday unless Congress passes a spending bill and President Donald Trump signs it into law. If the government shuts down, most federal agencies will close and many federal employees will be furloughed.

So if you’re hoping to catch a glimpse of one of the seven Natural Wonders of the World — or if you were planning on spending time in any of Arizona’s other national parks, monuments, trails or historic sites — you might have to wait until a spending bill is passed and signed.

And if your travel plans are for some-

where besides Arizona, you’ll face the same problem. Everything from New York’s Statue of Liberty National Monument to Wyoming’s Yellowstone National Park would close during a government shutdown as well.

Arizona’s natural treasures reach as far north as the Pipe Spring National Monument near Utah and as far south as the Coronado National Memorial near the U.S.-Mexico border.

If Congress is not able to pass a spending bill by Friday’s deadline, all would close.

National Park Service spokesman Jeffrey Olson would not confirm or deny a list of national parks and monuments in Arizona that would be temporarily closed under a government shutdown.

“We’re not going to speculate on any possible change in government operations,” he wrote in an email to The Republic. “National parks are open and continue to welcome visitors.”

Parks and monuments affected in Arizona would presumably include:

Canyon de Chelly National Monument in Chinle.

Casa Grande Ruins National Monument in Coolidge.

Chiricahua National Monument in Willcox.

Coronado National Memorial in Hereford.

Fort Bowie National Historic Site in Willcox.

Glen Canyon National Recreation Area spanning Arizona and Utah. Grand Canyon National Park. Hohokam Pima National Monument, which is in the care of the Casa Grande Ruins National Monuments.

Hubbell Trading Post National Historic Site in Ganado.

Lake Mead National Recreation Area in the Mojave Desert spanning Arizona and Nevada.

Montezuma Castle National Monument in Camp Verde.

Navajo National Monument in Black Mesa.

Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument in Ajo.

Grand Canyon-Parashant National Monument in northern Arizona.

Petrified Forest National Park near Holbrook.

Pipe Spring National Monument in Fredonia.

Saguaro National Park in Tucson. Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument in Flagstaff.

Tonto National Monument in Roosevelt.

Tumacácori National Historic Park in Tumacácori.

Tuzigoot National Monument in Clarkdale.

Walnut Canyon National Monument in Flagstaff.

Wupatki National Monument in Flagstaff.

In October 2013, the federal government shut down after opposition to the Affordable Care Act, popularly known as “Obamacare,” delayed passage of a spending bill.

Arizona joined Colorado, Utah, South Dakota and New York that year in keeping its national parks open during the shutdown.

The Interior Department at the time required states to pay for reopening the parks.

Environmental coverage on azcentral .com and in The Arizona Republic is supported by a grant from the Nina Mason Pulliam Charitable Trust. Follow The Republic environmental-reporting team at OurGrandAZ on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.