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SALT LAKE CITY — This weekend’s rainy forecast for southern Utah is sparking concerns among folks helping to keep Zion National Park open and running during the federal government shutdown.

Zion Forever Project is “trying to be resilient and positive and action-oriented to ensure that there isn’t long-lasting damage” from the shutdown, director of development Tiffany Stouffer said Friday.

Ten days into the government shutdown, she said the only departments still operating are search and rescue and law enforcement, and those rangers are working without pay. She’s hopeful visitors interacting with rangers will be patient and kind.

“It’s important to remember that what they’re doing is a service for all of us,” said Stouffer. “They’re stretched pretty thin right now.”

She said the organization is concerned about the long weekend ahead, with strained resources and the potential for dangerous weather conditions.

“Especially this weekend with the rain and the forecast, we’re really encouraging folks, ‘Hey, there are slot canyons. If you’re hiking The Narrows, be very aware,’ we don’t want to tax or burden our search and rescue rangers that are already stretched so thin right now,” said Stouffer. “If you’re a first-time visitor and you’ve never experienced a brief downpour like we get here in southern Utah, those incidents can become life-threatening very quickly.”

Thanks to funding from the state and the Zion Forever Project, the information desk in the visitor center and permitting remain staffed. Services like education programming, daily ranger talks and wildlife research are shut down.

“Zion is an icon among the park service. And it’s definitely the jewel here in southern Utah,” Stouffer said. “And the last thing we would want to do is to see that be tarnished.”

She said each day the government shutdown drags on creates more risk for public lands. During the COVID pandemic, Stouffer noted there were poaching and graffiti incidents.

“Folks sometimes take advantage of that situation and you know all it takes is one or two bad apples that can really have a lasting impact on these public lands,” she said. 

While the Park cannot collect fees right now, Stouffer said donations can be made to the nonprofit to help offset the financial impact of the shutdown, which grows each day.

“We really hope Congress gets it together and can get a budget passed to relieve some of this burden that these folks are carrying,” she said. “It’s a lot.”

Updates about the impact of the federal government shutdown on Utah’s public lands can be found here.

Related: Utah announces 5 national parks to remain open during government shutdown