‘A great shame’: Federal shutdown hits Minute Man

Visitors beware.

You can walk the trails at Minute Man National Historical Park. But the lots are closed, the bathrooms are locked, and the visitor centers are off-limits due to the federal budget stalemate in Washington, D.C. 

Appropriations officially lapsed Wednesday morning, plunging the nation into its first government shutdown since 2019. Some essential services are still running. Other programs are on pause, and many federal workers are at least temporarily off the job. 

Hours into the shutdown, perhaps the most visible local effect was at Minute Man, where park workers chained off lots and kept the restrooms closed. 

“I think it’s a great shame,” Concordian Nea Glenn said while walking her dog Emma near Old North Bridge. “I know a lot of visitors come here and rely on going to the visitors center.” 

At Meriam’s Corner, a “lot closed” sign, more than a dozen cones, chains, and caution tape warned motorists away. A ranger stood watch and waved to a group of runners as they passed along the Battle Road Trail.

Two park rangers sat in cruisers at the Monument Street NPS lot. The lot also serves The Robbins House, and rangers said it would be the only Minute Man parking area to remain open. 

A chain blocked the entrance to the North Bridge Visitor Center lot on Liberty Street. Workers later added traffic cones in the exit lane after some visitors drove the wrong way into the closed parking area.

With visitor centers shuttered, town Tourism Manager Beth Williams said her staff will try to fill the vacuum. She had a pop-up tent set up in the Monument Street lot by midday on Wednesday.

Williams and Acton’s tour guide corps will staff the tent from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. for at least five days. answering visitors’ questions and handing out town maps.

She said crews are set to deliver portable toilets on Thursday. 

Cleanliness concerns

Brad and Barb Kirkpatrick were visiting from Portland, Maine, Wednesday morning and were surprised to learn that the parking lots and buildings were closed. 

“That’s too bad,” Brad Kirkpatrick told The Acton Bridge. “We’ll get our walk in anyway.”

With visitor centers shuttered, town Tourism Manager Beth Williams said her staff will try to fill the vacuum. She had a pop up tent set up in the Monument Street lot by midday on Wednesday.

Williams and Acton’s tour guide corps will staff the tent from 10 a.m. until 3 p.m. for at least five days.

Brad and Barb Kirkpatrick were visiting from Portland, Maine, and were surprised to learn that the lot and buildings were closed. 

“That’s too bad,” Brad Kirkpatrick told The Acton Bridge. “We’ll get our walk in anyway.”

Cleanliness concerns

One woman from Acton, who declined to give her name, told a Bridge reporter that she walks the North Bridge area regularly with a bag to pick up trash. This voluntary act of public service may take on extra importance if the shutdown continues. 

One national contingency plan from recent weeks said the NPS would furlough roughly 64% of its workforce if the government shut down. Despite this, the plan said park roads, lookouts, trails, and open air memorials would “generally remain accessible.”

The government has left parks open with minimal staffing during past shutdowns. In a letter last week, former NPS superintendents said doing so led to vandalism, habitat destruction, and accumulating trash. NPS alums took note of the looming disruption and urged Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum to take a different approach.

At least in Acton, the NPS appears to have held firm, with multiple rangers confirming to The Bridge that trails were open despite parking lot and building closures. 

The Bridge has reached out to a park spokesperson for further comment. 

‘Business as usual’

A recent Environmental Protection Agency plan included provisions to halt cleanups at some Superfund sites during a shutdown.

Select Board member Paul Boehm said he was in touch with the head contractor at Acton’s 2229 Main Street Superfund site Wednesday afternoon and confirmed crews were still working. 

“It’s business as usual, as far as I know there,” he said. 

The last government shutdown before this week’s disruption started in late 2018 and lasted 35 days into the new year. It was the longest lapse in U.S. history. 

Other shutdowns have been short, with one at the beginning of 2018 ending after three days. 

With a chill in the air in Acton and frosty relations between national Democratic and Republican leaders, Glenn said she fears a lengthy holdup.

“I bet you it will be a long one,” she said.  

4:25 p.m.: This breaking story has been updated.