PORT ANGELES — If federal sequestration comes to pass this Friday, Olympic National Park visitors can expect shorter camping seasons, fewer interpretive programs, delayed road openings and other tangible changes.
Park officials are bracing for a $639,000 cut that would occur if Congress fails to avert a budget “sequestration,” an across-the-board cut to federal spending.
“As we go about preparing for the possibility of these cuts, we’re pulling together contingency plans,” Olympic National Park spokeswoman Barb Maynes said in a Friday interview.
“We hope we’re not going to have to use this plan.”
The $639,000 hit would be significant for the remote park of 922,000 acres. Olympic National Park’s continuing budget for 2013 is $12.8 million.
Even if Congress fails to act, Maynes emphasized that the cuts would not impact public safety.
Park Superintendent Sarah Creachbaum was not available for comment Friday.
“All agencies of the government have been asked to prepare a plan in case the sequestration does occur,” Maynes said in an earlier interview.
“It’s kind of a work in progress. We know, from a National Park Service standpoint, that people should be prepared for reduced hours and services.”
Maynes was careful to be non-specific about which campgrounds, roads and other facilities would be most affected by the cut because the plan is still being refined and is not considered final.
However, Maynes provided the following framework for what would most likely occur:
■ Shorter seasons for park campgrounds. Visitation statistics would contribute to decisions on which campgrounds to keep closed.
■ A reduction in interpretive programs throughout the park. This would impact about 35,000 visitors, Maynes said.
■ The delayed opening of some seasonal roads. Maynes would not speculate on which summer-only roads would be affected but did say the late start would affect some 4,000 visitors.
■ A reduction in how frequently park restrooms are cleaned.
■ A reduction or elimination of grounds maintenance. Park facilities will “look a little shaggier because they wouldn’t be mowed as often, or weeded,” Maynes said.
None of the park’s 125 full-time employees is in danger of being laid off, she said.
However, sequestration would result in reducing travel and training for full-time staff, and fewer seasonal workers would be hired this summer, Maynes said.
The Associated Press obtained a National Park Service memo listing the effects of sequestration at many of the 398 national parks. Olympic was not among the parks listed in the memo.
Olympic National Park gets about 3 million visitors annually. Those guests pump about $115 million into the local economy, Maynes said.
“What we’re doing is trying to look at cutting costs in a way that will reduce the effects on visitors and the local economy,” she said, adding:
“We’re hoping we can avoid these cuts.”
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Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5072, or at rollikainen@peninsuladailynews.com.
