Despite the 43-day government shutdown, Acadia National Park is reporting a record number of visitors in October.
The park had more than 590,000 visitors, just over 5% more visitors than last October, according to preliminary data from the National Park Service.
But the shutdown prevented Acadia from collecting entrance fees from those visitors. Eric Stiles, president and CEO of the nonprofit Friends of Acadia, estimated that the park lost around $1.7 million in October.
"When you look at funding for the park, park entrance fees provide more funding for the park operations than Congress does, so that's a significant hit to the park for future projects, future programs and for staff," he said.
Stiles said even with the federal government now open, staff at Acadia can only plan through January, when the temporary funding measure expires.
He said that the surrounding community worked to support the park during the shutdown, but with so many staff furloughed, it was still a diminished experience.
"This is, this is again a moment in time where the staff and the community and the businesses and the residents all came together, and those staff were burning the candle at seven ends," Stiles said.
He said the situation raises long-term concerns about hiring and retaining park staff, when their jobs have become so unpredictable.
