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Yosemite National Park Reopens After 16-Day Government Shutdown

KVPR | By Rebecca Plevin
Published October 17, 2013 at 4:14 PM PDT
Joe Moore
/
Valley Public Radio
The government shutdown prevented an estimated 150,000 people from visiting Yosemite National Park this month.

Yosemite National Park reopened last night, and visitors are returning to the park today to snap photos and bask in the fall colors.

Park officials estimate that more than 150,000 people were blocked from visiting Yosemite during the 16-day government shutdown. That means lost entrance and campground fees, and concession sales, says spokesman Scott Gediman. 

“The loss of visitors has a huge ripple effect, from an economic perspective,” Gediman says. 

"The loss of visitors has a huge ripple effect, from an economic perspective" - Scott Gediman

Businesses outside Yosemite also suffered. Kirstie Kari, owner of El Portal Market, says she lost 90 percent of her customer base.

“I would guess October is a loss for all business owners in Mariposa County, and I would even venture to say all business owners in gateways to Yosemite,” Kari says.

All roads and campgrounds in the park have re-opened.
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Government & Politics yosemiteGovernment Shutdownyosemite national park
Rebecca Plevin
Rebecca Plevin was a reporter for Valley Public Radio from 2013-2014. Before joining the station, she was the community health reporter for Vida en el Valle, the McClatchy Company's bilingual newspaper in California's San Joaquin Valley. She earned the George F. Gruner Award for Meritorious Public Service in Journalism and the McClatchy President's Award for her work at Vida, as well as honors from the National Association of Hispanic Publications and the California Newspaper Publishers Association. Plevin grew up in the Washington, D.C. area and is a graduate of Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism. She is also a fluent Spanish speaker, a certified yoga teacher, and an avid rock-climber.
See stories by Rebecca Plevin
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