Oh stop whining. This area got what it voted for – a Tea party loon for a COngressman who will agree to nothing but cuts and who rants that government is evil. Prety funny that Republicans hate government until it affects them. ANd why do local businesses need the taxpayer money (funding the park) to bring in businesses? After all didn’t they “build it all themselves without help from the government’?
If you want the ssites opened and areas staffed, then take a page from the Chambers of COmmerce and businesses around Yellowstone Park and the Grand Teutons Park. “The Jenny Lake Visitor Center and Laurance S. Rockefeller Preserve in Grand Teton National Park were to be closed all summer because of the cuts — until private donors pitched in $116,000. Now, both will open on time.
Officials at Yellowstone, struggling with pending cuts, had decided to delay opening much of the park until the snow on the roads melted on its own. Then the neighboring towns of Cody and Jackson, Wyo., raised $171,000 to pay for snow-removal crews. The roads to Old Faithful from the west and east opened on schedule, said Al Nash, a park spokesman, and the South Entrance, weather permitting, will open on May 10 — right on time”
SO do the same. Stop whining. Raise the money. All those businesses who want the park open so they can make money can actually ante up and pay the cost of what it takes to attract the tourists they need as customers. Probably around $200000-250000 should do it. SO get your checkbooks out if you want the tourist attraction you need to be completely open.