WACO, Texas (KXXV) — As the federal government shutdown drags on, the ripple effects are being felt from coast to coast — including in Central Texas.
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National parks, monuments and memorials — including the Waco Mammoth National Monument — are having to adapt.
“It’s unfortunate. It’s not our first government shutdown that we’ve worked through,” said Jonathan Cook, parks and recreation director for the City of Waco.
“The Waco Mammoth National Monument is open, but the dig shelter unfortunately that requires federal employees — and during the shutdown they haven't been available — but the partnership with the Waco Mammoth Foundation resulted in a donation so those employees can work on the weekends,” Cook said.
Cook tells 25 News the partnership between the City of Waco, the Waco Mammoth Foundation and Baylor University is helping keep the site open.
In other parts of the country, it’s a different story.
“Since the shutdown began, we've seen 60% of National Park Service staff have been furloughed across the country, and so that means less staff on the trail, telling you what's open, less staff on the trail keeping you safe,” said Cary Dupuy, Texas regional director for the National Parks Conservation Association.
"Previously, we saw vandalism to different cultural and natural resources at the parks, like historic trees being chopped down, pictographs being damaged and vandalized and also impacts to visitors safety," Dupuy said.
Dupuy explained that the economic impact is also significant.
“Just in Waco, last year at Waco Mammoth National Monument, they had 112,000 visitors that came throughout the year, and their spending had a nearly $10 million economic impact. So, we do anticipate that as this goes on, that there could be a potential impact to those communities,” Dupuy said.
For now, the Mammoth Site’s doors remain open, even as the shutdown stretches on with no end in sight.
“This is just a historic and significant site, really a treasure for the city of Waco, and we're just glad to be able to work with Baylor, the Mammoth Foundation, and then also the National Park Service to find a way that the community still has access to such an important site,” Cook said.
The annual Fall Fossil Festival is happening Saturday, Oct. 18, from 9:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Waco Mammoth Site.
