In the midst of the government shutdown, several states have agreed to reopen state parks using local and state funding.
According to the Washington Post, Utah, Colorado, South Dakota, Arizona and New York have all agreed to the federal plan.
This week, the states asked to be allowed to reopen some of their parks because the shutdown has been negatively impacting local economies.
Keeping the parks open during the shutdown will come at a great cost – these states will be using money daily that they might not see again. In Arizona, Gov. Jan Brewer has been told by the Interior Department that the state will not be reimbursed for its spending, reports the San Francisco Gate.
Arizona will be spending $651,000 to keep the Grand Canyon open for just one week, and not all parts of the park will even be open during those days due to a lack of funding. The Gate reports that tourists contribute about $1.3 million a day to Arizona’s economy at this time of year.
The Grand Canyon opened once again at 8 a.m. Saturday morning.
Utah reportedly plans to pay the government up to $1.67 million to keep eight of its parks open for up to 10 days.
New York will spend about $60,000 a day to keep sites such as the Statue of Liberty open during the shutdown, according to the Post.
The states reopening their parks hope that this temporary solution will help boost their already struggling economies.