MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:
Thousands of National Park Service employees are furloughed because of the government shutdown. Most parks are still open in some capacity, but the communities around those parks are facing challenges with staff going without pay and fewer park visitors.
LEILA FADEL, HOST:
Earlier this year, we spoke with people who own businesses in the town of Joshua Tree, California. That was when federal funding for national parks was at risk. We checked back in to see how they're doing as the tourism season in the Mojave Desert kicks off.
MARTIN: Susan Burnett owns the Mojave Sands Motel.
SUSAN BURNETT: I have had quite a few cancellations. You know, some of it, I think, is because of the confusion around whether the park's open or not.
MARTIN: She says many would-be visitors are not aware that the park is open. Her revenue is down 30% this month, adding to an already difficult year that forced her to let her assistant go.
BURNETT: I'm on a skeleton crew, working every single day. And I don't know. How long can I sustain that? I have no idea.
MARTIN: She says every local business in the area relies on tourism, and they're all hurting.
FADEL: Seth Zaharias co-owns Cliffhanger Guides, which offers high-end rock climbing and adventure experiences in Joshua Tree National Park, and this isn't his first shutdown.
SETH ZAHARIAS: The failure to fund the government always comes up on October 1, which is effectively opening day of our season. I think I've lived through five - definitely five and maybe six government shutdowns.
FADEL: And he says this one is going to be painful.
ZAHARIAS: I'm going to lose money in the month of October. And the company has the stability to weather that, but I will lose money in the month of October.
MARTIN: Many people in Joshua Tree live on the margin, says Susan Burnett. The government shutdown and what it's done to the local economy has shaken her confidence. She says it's stopped businesses like hers from investing in their future.
BURNETT: We're just in a place where we can't think of growth. We can't think of spending any money on growing. We don't even have a government operating. We were all thriving, and we were making big plans for the future of our town and, you know, how we were going to grow, and that's all gone right now. And that's really sad.
MARTIN: That was Susan Burnett and Seth Zaharias with one snapshot of the impact of this government shutdown.
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