The federal government shutdown is ended, at least for three weeks.
Employees of the Bureau of Land Management staff was welcomed back by Friends of Red Rock Canyon with a cake and veggie tray.
A few considered essential employees did work during the shutdown, while others were furloughed. All were without pay until this week.
During the shutdown, the visitor center and scenic loop did remain open because the Department of Interior determined that areas that operate with amenity fees under the Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act (FLREA) can collect fees and operate during a lapse of appropriations.
Red Rock Canyon is one of these sites, and Southern Nevada Conservancy, the cooperating association for the national conservation area, operates the fee station and collects the amenity fee services for the BLM.
100% of the amenity fees collected are reinvested back into to Red Rock Canyon and allows the BLM to continue with providing a quality visitor experience, perform necessary repairs and maintain our facilities and parking areas, provide law enforcement and public safety, and manage and preserve Red Rock’s natural, cultural, and aesthetic resources which are important to the visiting public and local community.
This site will monitor events in Washington as Senate and House conference members negotiate for a settlement before a three-week deadline imposed by new legislation lapses.