Atop Mount Rainier, Digging Out From The Government Shutdown Means Epic Snow Plowing. According to The Washington Post, “Rare winter sunshine explodes off the icy snowpack in the parking lot of the visitor center and lookout here — what folks call a ruby dazzler. Unrestrained, Mount Rainier looms. Ryan Mettler and Mike Ray move their rotary snowplows methodically across the terrain, slicing into the five feet of snow that piled up over five weeks, their chutes spraying white arcs 100 feet or so. It’s likely to take at least two days to clear, leaving huge snowbanks around the perimeter. Road crews and other staff members at Mount Rainier National Park are scrambling to reopen this iconic volcanic mountain to the public, more than a month after the partial federal government shutdown cut off official access to some of its most popular wintertime activities. The park lost 10 percent of its working year, Superintendent Chip Jenkins laments. And while Paradise might begin welcoming visitors by next weekend, there is bigger concern about the long-term effect those lost days could have on the crucial summer season. ‘Sure, we’ll get the snow removed . . . and people will come back,’ Jenkins said Monday. But it’s the ‘downstream effects of the shutdown’ that are most worrying his team leaders. ‘Their ability to hire the right people so we can de-winterize buildings, open up campgrounds, open the trails up.’” [The Washington Post, 1/29/19 (+)]

 

Outer Banks’ Top Seashell-Hunting Beaches Littered With Shells After Federal Shutdown. According to The Charlotte Observer, “Being closed a month due to the partial government shutdown had one benefit for Cape Lookout National Seashore: Its beaches are now weighted with gloriously collectible seashells. ‘The shelling is excellent right now,’ said a Monday Facebook post from Cape Lookout park staff. The national park reopened Monday and the abundance of seashells is credited to a combination of factors, including weather and lower park attendance, said B. G. Horvat of the park’s staff. ‘It’s colder on the water, which makes for less folks heading over,’ Horvat told the Charlotte Observer. ‘Also, over the months of December and January, there have already been several storms that likely carried many shells ashore with their tides, currents and winds.’” [The Charlotte Observer, 1/29/19 (=)]

 

'Sour Taste' Lingers For Furloughed Firefighters. According to E&E News, “Fire experts are crossing their fingers that the 35-day government shutdown won’t affect this year’s wildfire season. They already got lucky: California had low-risk fire weather in December and January, unlike last winter when firefighters had to work through the holiday season in high-risk conditions. And an unusual winter fire in New Mexico was contained without injury or building damage. The next indication will come as federal agencies finish staffing up for the fire season. Hiring continued through the shutdown, but managers worry their seasonal staff and new permanent hires could bail at the first opportunity. Retention already challenges federal fire agencies, which offer less compensation than most state and local governments. Now, two missed paychecks and the stress of some people picking up additional duties — including those not related to fires, like cleaning bathrooms — has hurt morale and threatens to drive away more firefighters, according to a federal fire manager in the West. ‘This has got to leave a sour taste in people’s mouths — I just don’t know how much and to what degree yet,’ said the fire manager, who wasn’t authorized to speak to media and requested anonymity. The silver lining, the person said, is that federal agencies are so accustomed to losing firefighters that they already factor it into their planning.” [E&E News, 1/30/19 (=)]

 

 

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