DALLAS - Last year's federal government shutdown cost Arizona businesses and communities near the Grand Canyon $17 million, the lion's share of the $20 million the state lost during the 16-day Congressional standoff in October, according
Nationally, the government shutdown resulted in nearly 8 million fewer visitors to national parks, costing the parks and surrounding communities an estimated $414 million in lost visitor spending, the report said.
Five states, including California and Arizona, lost more than $20 million each during the government shutdown last October, which occurred after the Republican-led House demanded repeal of the American Health Care Act in exchange for keeping government funded. North Carolina, Wyoming and Virginia also lost at least $20 million during the shutdown, which happened during annual fall foliage touring season.
About 10 days into the shutdown, the National Park Service allowed the states of Utah, Arizona, Colorado, New York, South Dakota, and Tennessee to re-open and temporarily operate 14 park units, while the remaining 387 national park units remained closed. Under the terms of the agreements, each state donated funds to the NPS for the sole purpose of enabling NPS employees to re-open and manage the parks.
The first agreement allowed Utah to pay for the opening of all eight national parks in the state including Glen Canyon National Recreation Area in Utah and Arizona at the daily cost of $166,572. Utah paid a total of $999,432 to the NPS to open the Utah parks for the six-day period.
Arizona decided to reopen the Grand Canyon at a cost of $465,000.
Each dollar of funding for the 14 parks opened with state funding before the end of the shutdown generated an estimated $10 in visitor spending, according to the report.
