Most of Mississippi’s national parks and monuments are closed to visitors because of the federal government shutdown.

An exception is the Vicksburg National Military Park, which initially closed when the shutdown began Oct. 1 but entered an agreement to reopen the next day with donations from the nonprofit Friends of Vicksburg National Military Park. 

While the visitor center, USS Cairo Gunboat & Museum, tour roads and restrooms are all open to visitors, the park is running on limited staff.

Operating the park during the shutdown costs $2,000 a day, said Bess Averett, executive director of Friends of Vicksburg National Military Park.

“We are not a massive nonprofit, so we do have limited resources,” Averett said. “So far, the public has been very generous.”

Keeping the park closed would make it vulnerable to vandalism, relic hunting and more problems, she said. It also would mean turning away visitors, hurting the local economy.

The military park is the most visited attraction in Mississippi, according to the local tourism office, Visit Vicksburg.

The federal government shut down after Congress failed to pass a budget for the new federal fiscal year. During a shutdown, essential services continue, including air traffic control and emergency response, but many federal employees are furloughed.

Mississippi Today reached out to most of the national park sites in Mississippi and went to the Medgar and Myrlie Evers Home in Jackson to check if they were open. The calls went to voicemail, the emails either bounced back or went unanswered by the time of publication, and the Evers Home was empty.  

The Emmett Till Interpretive Center and the Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley National Monument, both in Sumner, are closed. 

Visitors can still access the islands on Gulf Islands National Seashore in Ocean Springs, the Sun Herald reported. However, the Davis Bayou Area appeared to be closed. 

All of Mississippi’s barrier islands are “pretty much shut down,” said Ronnie Wentzell, who works for the privately run Ship Island Excursions.

“When I say it’s shut down, it’s only the fact that there’s no security people, there’s no park rangers on none of the islands or going to the islands,” Wentzell said.

The ferry service is still taking people to Ship Island. However, Fort Massachusetts is closed and there are no public accommodations. 

Kim Foster, a spokesperson for Natchez Trace Compact, wrote in an email, “I am happy to report that the Natchez Trace Parkway and many (not all) of its sites remain open during the shutdown.”

The parkway is open for travel, with a closure that is unrelated to the shutdown, between milepost 181 and milepost 204, roughly French Camp to Mathiston. Most sections of it are open, but some historic sites and trails are closed “for restoration or maintenance.”

Mississippi Today emailed the National Park Service press office, which responded with a statement that national parks would be “as accessible as possible” during the shutdown.

“Critical functions that protect life, property, and public health will remain in place, including visitor access in many locations, law enforcement, and emergency response,” the statement said.

The National Park Service is keeping most national parks partially open during the shutdown. However, more than two-thirds of its employees are furloughed. 

The National Parks Conservation Association is calling on Interior Secretary Doug Burgum to close all national parks, arguing that keeping them open is a danger to visitors and the parks themselves.

According to the National Park Service contingency plan, limited staff will remain to perform “exempted activities,” such as law enforcement and fire suppression. 

Trails, park roads, lookouts and open-air memorials “will generally remain accessible to visitors.” However, there will be no updates on road or trail conditions. Websites and social media will only be updated for emergencies. Parks that collect fees under the Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act can use those fees to provide basic visitor services.

Parks that don’t have accessible areas won’t operate and will have minimal staff.

“As part of their orderly shutdown activities, park staff will post signs notifying visitors that only basic or no visitor services, maintenance, or other management activities will be conducted, and emergency services will be limited,” the plan read.