Copyright M Live Michigan
EMPIRE, MI -- Toll booths remain closed at national parks as the federal government stretches into its longest shutdown in U.S. history. Visitors can still enter public areas, but parks are losing their entrance fees as each car passes through without paying. During the shutdown, park rangers who are staffed for health and safety roles cannot sell park passes. But, nonprofit groups are collecting them in their place. The Friends of Sleeping Bear Dunes raised over $12,000 through its Entrance Fee Support Campaign since the shutdown began Oct. 1. It’s a silver lining of hope during this eerie autumn, executive director Laura Ann Johnson said. “More than half of those gifts came from new donors, which tells us that awareness is growing and people truly want to support the National Lakeshore,” she said. What started as an awareness campaign and a call out to park supporters has exceeded expectations and brought new friends into the fold, Johnson said. ”It feels like this campaign has given folks a meaningful way to do something when things feel uncertain," she said. The nonprofit is a philanthropic partner of the National Park Service and can continue its work of advocacy, fundraising and strategic planning for the park during the shutdown. National parks are running on a skeleton staff while non-essential workers are furloughed. The NPS contingency plan, published in September, estimated 9,296 workers would be furloughed across all national parks. The furlough estimate represents about 60% of the workforce, depending on seasonal labor. Friends of Sleeping Bear is running triage on leaves piling up, pine needles growing slick on trails, tree branches blocking trailheads and porta-potties left unattended. While other volunteer programs, like the accessible TrackChair and wheelchair bike, have been on hiatus because they require a park supervisor. This week, Friends of Sleeping Bear Dunes hosted a potluck with rangers and volunteers to “bring our community together to share food, laughter, and connection during a difficult season.” In the Upper Peninsula, events in gateway communities are in the works to support furloughed NPS employees and affected businesses. “We are checking in on individuals and letting them know they are not forgotten in the shifting news cycles,” said Tom Irvine, Executive Director of The National Parks of Lake Superior Foundation. The nonprofit has seen donors big and small roll in in the last month, with first-time donors steadily increasing, Irvine said. In Michigan, the nonprofit represents Isle Royale National Park, Keweenaw National Historic Park and Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore. Impacts to 2026 budgets won’t be clear until the government reopens. But, Irvine and Johnson agree that the immediate impact is felt by workers, both in NPS and the surrounding tourism industries. “Gateway communities, particularly towns like Munising and Calumet, are towns that support the park structure. When visitation is off for your main visitor experience it affects the whole community,” Irvine said. Alger County, home to Pictured Rocks, reported $58.5 million in visitor spending in 2024, according to the Michigan Economic Development Corporation. The NPS economic report drills down further into visitor spending habits when they travel in and out of the park. The NPS economic report calculates the 953,000 Pictured Rocks visitors last year spent $50 million in surrounding areas. Houghton County, home to Keweenaw National Historic Park, drew in $104.5 million in visitor spending last year, according to the MEDC report. More than 31,000 park visitors visited Keweenaw National Historical Park in 2024. They spent an estimated $2.2 million in local gateway regions while visiting, according to NPS. “People don’t realize how many jobs [could be affected] from the restaurants to the hotels. This isn’t just park rangers,” Johnson said. “Glen Arbor, Empire, Frankfort. All those places rely on this place to bring in these tourists that are going to spend money at their establishments.” Sleeping Bear Dunes has by far Michigan’s largest economic output out of the state’s five national parks and lakeshores. Last year’s 1.7 million park visitors spent an estimated $220 million in local gateway regions while visiting Sleeping Bear, according to NPS. “The real work will come once things settle,” Johnson said. “We will need to understand the impacts on 2026 operations and determine how Friends can best support the park moving forward, including how we thoughtfully and strategically use the entrance fee donations we’ve received.” Find more information on Friends of Sleeping Bear Dunes, here. Find more information on National Parks Lake Superior Foundation, here.
