EMPIRE — Federal workers at Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore came back to the office today to collect back pay and get started on key projects.
The shutdown put them behind schedule on clean-up and maintenance that needs to be done before winter. But today, the sound of leaf blowers and chainsaws was in the air.
When the government shut its door last month, the Friends of Sleeping Bear Dunes knew it was time to bring their tractors and help pitch in.
“We were able to help out with kind of immediate safety dangers,” said Laura Ann Johnson, executive director of The Friends. “So, for example, if a tree fell over the sleeping bear heritage trail, our crew could come out and take care of that removal.”
But now, the federal workers are back in the field, cleaning up comfort stations, putting up snow fencing, and rescheduling canceled school tours.
Thanks to the work of the volunteers and a few rangers who stayed on duty during the shutdown, Sleeping Bear remained relatively unharmed.
“There’s always a worry that there’s going to be vandalism or park property that’s damaged, ” Johnson said. “Thankfully, that didn’t happen this time around.”
Instead, the main challenges for the park are clerical, like getting caught up on staffing for next year.
“They’re trying to figure out pretty quickly what seasonal hires they need for the summer,” Johnson said. “Because that goes into a whole big pool, right. Of all the seasonals for all the parks. So I think that’s kind of the biggest thing.”
The park was also shut down during the peak of the fall season. Even though people came, the parks were not able to collect revenue.
That lost money could end up causing budgeting problems later on.
But for now, federal workers tell Nine and Ten News that they are eager to get caught up on their projects.