AT Closed Due to Government Shut Down

 

Dear A.T. Volunteers:

As you all know now, at midnight September 30, the U.S. government shut down. All National Park Service units including the Appalachian National Scenic Trail are closed. All of our ATC Trail crews and seasonal staff are now exiting the woods and will stop working on federal lands for the duration of the shutdown.

A.T. maintainers and Trail club volunteers should cease work on the A.T. and its side trails immediately. The NPS Volunteers in the Parks program (on NPS and some state lands) is suspended. The Volunteers in the Forests program is also suspended. In the event of an accident, lack of those protections would expose A.T. workers, their clubs, and ATC to tort claims and medical costs. Therefore, all A.T. maintenance must cease for the duration of the shutdown.

National park lands are closed to public use. Except for two NPS-APPA NPS law-enforcement officers (Chief Ranger Todd Remaley and Park Ranger Travis Baker), all APPA park personnel have been furloughed, as have most of the staff in the six national park units crossed by the Trail. Incident reporting remains as in the past (see http://www.appalachiantrail.org/hiking/report-an-incident). We urge your compliance in honoring the closures on our national parks and avoiding use of national park lands during the federal government shutdown.
 
We have learned from the USDA Forest Service that—unless an area can be gated—it will remain open. This is also the case on state lands crossed by the A.T.

The ATC Mid-Atlantic Regional Office in Boiling Springs, Pennsylvania, is owned by the NPS, and the agency has determined that it must be closed for the duration of the shutdown.

For A.T. volunteers in the states of Maine, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, northern Virginia and the Catawba Valley in Southwest Virginia (NPS-APPA administered lands excepting state lands) the attached signs can be laminated and posted at bulletin boards at Trail heads warning the visiting public about the closure. For this task only, volunteers are covered by VIP until noon tomorrow, October 2, 2013. I have also enclosed a fact sheet from the Department of Interior.

If you have any other questions, please call your ATC regional office http://www.appalachiantrail.org/who-we-are/locations or me here at ATC-HQ.  We pulled your names from two lists, so there may be duplicates of this email, with apology.

Thank you for your outstanding service to the Appalachian Trail, ATC and our federal, state and local agency partners.


Bob

Robert Proudman

Director of Conservation Operations

Appalachian Trail Conservancy

799 Washington Street | PO Box 807

Harpers Ferry, WV 25425-0807