Gov. Patrick Morrisey said today that the State of West Virginia will continue paying to keep national parks open during a key tourism season as the federal shutdown continues.
West Virginia’s “donation agreement” to keep national parks open in the state began near the start of this month. Originally, the state was aiming for 14 days. Now that the shutdown has stretched on, Morrisey said the state’s financial support to open the parks will continue.
“Just a few days into the shutdown, I announced West Virginia would be keeping our national parks open and fully operational during one of the busiest tourism months that we have,” Morrisey said today in a news briefing at the state Capitol.
But as the federal shutdown continues with no end in sight, the governor said the original agreement is set to expire Friday night.
That’s a day ahead of a major West Virginia tourism event, Bridge Day, which is this Saturday. Thousands of people gather for access to the New River Gorge Bridge and to watch BASE jumpers and rappellers.
“It’s my intent that if the federal government fails to reopen by then,” Morrisey said, “I fully intend to extend that agreement and Bridge Day will go on as planned.
“Right now we’re working on the paperwork with the national parks to make sure we could extend that agreement until the end of the month if it’s needed. We’re hopeful that we can have that final deal announced in the next day or two.”
The extended agreement would keep the Harpers Ferry National Historical Park and New River Gorge National River open right as leaf-peeping draws a steady flow of fall tourism.
The Governor’s Office said the original total cost for 14 days is $97,986.56 — with Harpers Ferry representing $66,508.96 of that and New River Gorge representing $31,477.60, according to the Governor’s Office.
That’s about $7,000 a day, a figure that the governor said would be well worth the cost.
“When they presented to me $7,000 a day, I thought that was a really good deal,” Morrisey said. “And so it’ll obviously be hundreds of thousands of dollars if it extends out.
“But the other way to think about it is if you go up to Harpers Ferry and you talk to all the small businesses that are depending upon this at a difficult time — I mean, Harpers Ferry, Jefferson County, Fayette County, Nicholas County, a lot of these areas — they would be hurt a lot.”
Typically under a shutdown, visitor centers would be closed, trash would not be collected and road/trail maintenance might not occur, particularly if weather conditions get challenging.
In 2024, New River Gorge National Park and Preserve recorded a total of 1,811,937 visitors, with more than 200,000 visiting in October alone. Last year, Harpers Ferry National Historical Park welcomed more than 488,00 guests, with nearly 78,000 arriving during the month of October.
Bridge Day again this year anticipates a great crowd and lovely weather, New River Gorge Convention and Visitors Bureau Executive Director Becky Sullivan said.
“We expect tens of thousands of spectators to come out, especially with the weather forecast,” Sullivan said at today’s briefing.
“The entire New River Gorge Region benefits from Bridge Day. It’s a huge event for our state. It’s a huge event for our area.”