It’s been more than a month since an estimated 800,000 federal workers received pay, marking the longest government shutdown in United States history. With no end in sight to the impasse in Washington, where President Donald Trump battles Democrats over the construction of a border wall, West Marin residents have pitched in.
In response to trash build-up and unsanitary bathrooms in the Point Reyes National Seashore, donated toilet paper and other essentials have been arriving. A Novato-based trash collecting company, Green Hauling, stepped up in early January to offer its services throughout the park, and the Board of Supervisors authorized Marin County Parks to open restrooms at the Bear Valley Visitor Center.
Making national news, Mary Margaret Stewart, the owner of the Stinson Beach waterside concession the Siren Canteen, made personal donations to cover the cost of opening and maintaining the beach’s parking lot and public restrooms for weekend-stints; community members started a GoFundMe campaign that hoped to raise funds to help her cover those costs and that to date has exceeded its goal of $7,713, at $9,195.
As of last week, seashore spokesman John Dell’Osso said the National Park Service had dipped into reserves generated from campground fees to cover trash pickup and bathroom maintenance, relieving the volunteer effort to keep vault toilets and the Bear Valley facilities open for the foreseeable future. (Typically, that fund is spent on deferred maintenance projects related to the campgrounds.)
In addition to the handful of maintenance workers, on-duty employees include Mr. Dell’Osso, who handles the press, and a rotating guard of nine law enforcement agents and two water treatment operators.
Mr. Dell’Osso said the last month has seen an uptick in the number of transgressions by park visitors, but that they have been primarily minor in nature, such as out-of-bounds camping and off-leash dogs. By comparison, in other parts of California vandals have cut down Joshua trees and torn up Death Valley with off-road vehicles.
“I really want to thank the people of West Marin and beyond, who are doing some incredible things because of their park and because they care. People picking up trash just because—we’ve seen this again and again,” Mr. Dell’Osso said.
The long-term effects of the shutdown are less visible, however. The park is not conducting seasonal wildlife counts, such as for elephant seal populations and spawning salmon, though volunteers and county groups are picking up the slack.
Backup enforcement for hiking or water accidents is also a concern, with the Coast Guard working but not receiving pay. Like efforts nationwide, food banks and donation efforts have sprung up for the families based at nearby Hamilton Field in Novato and Two Rock in
Sonoma County.
Mr. Dell’Osso said he is contacting the staff he oversees once a week to see how they are faring. “For a number of people, this is very stressful. It just gets harder, the longer this goes on,” he said. He is also feeling the crunch on other federal agencies and partners—Cordell Bank Marine Sanctuary, the United States Geological Survey and the Point Reyes National Seashore Association, all of which have representatives stationed at Bear Valley.
Donna Faure, the executive director of PRNSA, said she has had to temporarily lay off seven employees, whose pay is tied to stymied federal grants. All three of the association’s bookstores are now closed at an estimated $10,000 in sales lost each week, including most recently the Drakes Beach location, as the park closed the road to protect male elephant seals that migrated into the parking lot with last week’s high tides.
“Our budget is taking a huge hit and we are concerned about how we will be able to provide services at the level we planned,” Ms. Faure said.
Nationwide, though Congress has funded roughly 75 percent of the government through September, the lack of services provided by the remaining agencies—including the departments of agriculture, commerce, justice, homeland security, housing and urban development, interior, state, transportation and treasury—is extensive. Of particular concern for California, the Forest Service, the Bureau of Land Management and the park service are unable to prepare for the upcoming fire season, postponing controlled burns and other winter-specific projects throughout the state.
Despite orders from the top, Governor Gavin Newsom has confirmed that California will provide unemployment benefits to workers, though they must repay them once they receive back wages.