While closing gates around a national park or monument is relatively simple, closing a forest is not. Newspapers and radio and television news operations around the country are reporting that while offices and facilities within the national forests have been closed, the land is still open to outdoor enthusiasts.
Any activity requiring a permit, like hunting or camping, will still require a permit, according to many reports, and while forest stations are closed, permits can be purchased through local commercial retailers, while supplies last. The same applies to parking passes at United States Forest Service trail heads and sites.
Camping facilities are also officially closed, and in many cases, water and electricity has already been turned off (so no flushing toilets or charging your cellphone).
"The main message is: the forest is still available," Boyd Hartwig, a spokesman for the Lolo National Forest in Montana told The Missoulian on Tuesday. "Folks can still use Blue Mountain and the Rattlesnake and Pattee Canyon," he said. "The golf course is still open. Some campgrounds may have been closed already, but we're not going to lock anybody in."
Judi Perez, a spokeswoman for the Hoosier National Forest in Indiana, told The Associated Press that while campgrounds were closed, people could still access the forest because it has no fence.
Although the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in Tennessee is closed, the NBC affiliate WBIR in Tellico Plains, Tenn., reported that the Cherohala Skyway, a state road that runs through the Cherokee National Forest, is open, as are its overlooks and visitors center, which are maintained by the county. And although campgrounds are closed, all access roads to the forest remain open and law enforcement continues to monitor the area.
Attempts to contact the United States Forest Service and other federal agencies were not successful. A message on the Forest Service Web site directs readers to the Department of Agriculture, which then directs readers to usa.gov and various government contingency plans, including one for the Forest Service.
The plan, dated Sept. 20, states which activities the agency will continue, including fire suppression and law enforcement, but does not clearly state whether the lands will remain open to the public.
Most local reports confirm that Forest Service security and local law enforcement are still patrolling the forests and campgrounds. The same applies to the 245 million acres of land under the care of the Bureau of Land Management, National Public Radio reported.
Terry Richard of The Oregonian reminded campers that while the Bureau of Land Management campsites around Oregon were closed, those along the Deschutes or John Day rivers are not gated and are most likely accessible. He also suggested that campgrounds operated by concessionaires, companies that hold land grants or recreation services operating under special-use permits, like the Hoodoo campgrounds in the Willamette National Forest in Oregon, would most likely still be open to the public. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service refuges around Oregon and Washington are closed and gated, but people could simply park outside and walk in, he reported, although refuge hours would still stand, and entry after dark would most likely be prohibited.
"A savvy outdoors person" Mr. Richard wrote, "can read through the lines to know what is still open."
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