NJ Parks and Trails closed due to Gov't Shutdown

[Ben Ruset]

http://www.njhiking.com/new-jersey-parks-trails-closed-government-shutdown/

Doesn't seem like it affects South Jersey at all, though.

 

[GermanG]

My understanding is that the shutdown applies to the entire refuge system, including Forsythe. No hunting and fishing on refuge lands. I think the refuge's website is even down due to the shutdown. A search directs you back to the Dept. of the Interior's site.

 

[Ben Ruset]

I didn't know if Forsythe was Federal or State land.

 

[GermanG]

I understand why staffed facilities are closed but find the concept of "closing" saltmarsh areas somewhat ridiculous. It somehow reminds me of the scene towards the end of National Lampoon's Vacation, where Clark asks the owner of the theme park what he would do if he got to Florida and the state was closed. This is not funny however. I've never needed my hand held while hunting or fishing but I guess they figure they might have to rescue the stray idiot who gets into trouble out there. It's just a shame so many are paying the price for the childish antics in DC.

 

[Badfish740]

I didn't know if Forsythe was Federal or State land.

Yes, Forsythe is a National Wildlife Refuge. They probably didn't list on NJHiking because that crowd is really only interested in the northern/northwest portion of the state. Everyone once in a while somebody will talk/ask about the Batona but that's about it. I'm headed to the Water Gap Area/Stokes this weekend-I bet I can get around some of those barriers

 

[Boyd]

Sucks if you own a vacation home inside a national park. Delaware Water Gap is also a National Recreation Area, I wonder if anyone has a similar problem?

http://finance.yahoo.com/blogs/the-exchange/shutdown-threatens-home-owners-205824755.html

The government has told about 60 home owners in southern Nevada, for instance, that they need to leave their property for the duration of the shutdown, because their homes sit on federal land in the Lake Mead Recreational Area. Since Lake Mead is managed by the feds, anybody who happens to own a home within its boundaries is technically a “visitor” subject to the same lockout that applies to tourists, hikers, campers or sportsmen seeking access to federal land.


The rules governing Lake Mead say that the only homes allowed there must be vacation homes, with the owners having a primary residence someplace else, so they’re not considered full-time, year-round residents of the park. But some home owners apparently got into the habit of spending most of their time at Lake Mead, anyway. Joyce Spencer, 77, said she and her husband Ralph, who is 80, had to move in with nearby family after a park ranger told them they had 24 hours to evacuate the Lake Mead home they’ve owned since the 1970s.

 

[46er]

Tyranny is running rampant in America, and no one really cares.

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news...-rangers-ordered-to-keep-visitors-out/?page=2

I'm surprised they haven't tried to close the Pines, after all it is a federal reserve with NPS ties. But perhaps that is being saved for after the default.