Shutdown Update: Impact to Gateway Communities, Hunting Permitted in Closed National Wildlife Refuges
FEMA Fails Local Communities | VA Launches Matching-Fund Grants | Giant Pumpkin Regatta
No movement on re-opening the government but there is a lot of work going on to demonstrate the impact of the shutdown on communities. Earlier this week, USA Today, has a good piece, What the government shutdown is costing national parks, communities. The article includes estimates from the National Park Conservation Association on how visitor spending gateway communities are losing on a daily basis and for October.
It is also worth noting that while the national parks cannot charge entrance fees, supporting organizations, such as the Friends groups can sell the annual American the Beautiful pass. Even if your park doesn’t charge an entrance fee this is a good opportunity to call on the public to support the parks by purchasing a pass. If your local Friends group is selling passes, tourism offices can support that effort by promoting it.
The Washington Post is report that Trump allows hunting in National Wildlife Refuges despite shutdown. The Fish & Wildlife Service has furloughed more than half of its staff. Some refuges will have a small a handful of staff on site to carry out essential safety work and some will have no staff at all. What could possibly go wrong?
If your community is experiencing impacts of the shutdown, please share your stories with me. I am sending them along to our advocacy partners who are using them in their work with Congress and the press.
The shutdown may be dominating headlines but the media continue to report on how the steady backlog of pending disaster aid requests is impacting communities. The New York Times reported on How FEMA Is Forcing Disaster-Struck Towns to Fend for Themselves.
Kudos to the Virginia Tourism Corporation, which has launched matching-grant funds designed to empower local tourism programs and make Virginia a year-round destination. Included in the grants program is dedicated funding for America 250 marketing. The VA250 Tourism Marketing Program, is designed to showcase Virginia’s rich history and cultural heritage, emphasizing major anniversaries and community pride.
To date, the impact of the funding program is significant: 104 local tourism programs across Virginia were selected to receive over $625,000 in matching-grant awards, contributing to a total investment exceeding $1.3 million in new tourism marketing initiatives. The total amount allocated, $627,877, was said to be complemented by an additional $729,992 in matching funds from local and regional partners. Travel and Tour World has detailed information on the VA250 Tourism Marketing Program and and other two matching-grant funds.
It should also be noted that Virginia has developed some great VA250 swag that they have been kind enough to share with me.
To end on an upbeat note, Oregon’s West Coast Giant Pumpkin Regatta attracted more than 20,000 people over the weekend. The Washington Post has all the details, In this regatta, boats are giant pumpkins. It’s as chaotic as it sounds.