RELEASE: National Parks Shutdown Costs Local Communities $76 Million Per Day

Washington, D.C. — Today, ClimateProgress posted an analysis of the impact on the millions of tourists who are finding locked gates and closed roads at America’s national parks and monuments as a result of House Republicans’ demand that the federal government shut down unless Obamacare is defunded, delayed, or repealed.

Not only are these closures disrupting people’s lives by forcing them to cancel weddings and vacations, but they are also dealing an immediate blow to the local economies that benefit from the 300 million visitors who come to national parks each year and who help support America’s $646 billion outdoor recreation economy.

The National Park Service put out a press release Tuesday noting that the government shutdown of national parks will result in total economic losses of $76 million per day to local communities. National parks provide economic benefits in a variety of ways, including tourists’ purchases of gasoline, food, lodging, and gear in gateway communities near national parks.

Additionally, ClimateProgress analyzed the most recent National Park Service data on the economic impacts of national parks in every state and found the top 10 states that will lose the most money from the government shutdown of national parks:

The states most affected by the closure of national parks and monuments include North Carolina ($4.4 million in lost economic benefits per day) and Tennessee ($3.4 million per day). These states are home to America’s most visited national park, the Great Smoky Mountains, which sees more than 9 million visitors per year.

The states represented by Republican leadership in Congress will also be hard hit. Ohio, for example, home of House Speaker John Boehner, is losing $310,000 per day. Virginia, home of House Minority Leader Eric Cantor, is losing $3.3 million per day. California, home of House Minority Whip Kevin McCarthy, is losing $8.5 million per day.

Texas—home of Republican Sen. Ted Cruz, who spent 21 hours on the Senate floor railing against Obamacare last week—is losing more than $1 million per day due to closed national parks in the state.