WV spending $100K to keep national parks open during federal government shutdown

by Caity Coyne, West Virginia Watch
October 3, 2025

West Virginia is entering into an agreement to donate nearly $100,000 to the National Park Service in order to keep the state’s national parks open amid the ongoing federal government shutdown.

The money is coming from the governor’s civil contingency fund, a pot of money that serves as the state’s main resource for handling natural disasters as well as for the governor to use in any way he sees fit.

It totals about $98,000, with about $66,500 of that going toward operations at Harpers Ferry and nearly $31,500 for the New River Gorge, according to Drew Galang, the deputy press secretary for Gov. Patrick Morrisey.

The donation from the state will keep its national parks — including visitor centers, shuttle services, museums and more — fully operating for at least two weeks, Morrisey announced at a news conference Friday. West Virginia is the first state in the nation to enter into such an agreement.

If the shutdown ends sooner than 14 days, Galang said the state will “get the remaining funds back.” The state will not recoup any costs for days the government is shut down.

If two weeks pass and the federal government is still shut down, Morrisey said the state will “reevaluate as needed.”

“West Virginia is America’s playground, and we want to let you know our national parks are open and ready for you to visit,” Morrisey said Friday. “… The agreement that we have, I think, is a great deal for West Virginia. It allows us to keep these parks open, and we’re doing that through state resources but it’s a good trade off, because tourism really is so critical for West Virginia’s success.”

West Virginia Tourism Secretary Chelsea Ruby said October is the fourth “busiest” tourism month for the state out of the entire year. Last year, Morrisey said, more than 200,000 unique visitors came to the New River Gorge National Park in October. More than 78,000 visitors went to Harpers Ferry National Historic Park over that same time.

Those visitors, Morrisey said, bring millions of dollars in economic impact to businesses and communities nearby.

“People are flocking to our state every day, and they know that we have a rich history and stunning scenery,” Morrisey said. “I know that as West Virginia really begins its comeback, we do it on the backs of people falling in love with our gorgeous state and then spending more time here.”

Throughout his comments Friday, Morrisey repeatedly politicized the ongoing federal government shutdown, calling it the “Schumer Shutdown” in reference to U.S. House of Representatives Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-NY.

The federal government shutdown began early Wednesday morning after a deadlocked congress failed to approve a funding bill before the beginning of the new fiscal year to keep services running.

At the heart of this fight are enhanced health care subsidies that particularly impact West Virginians.

Democrats in Congress want to see these subsidies included in the spending bill. Republicans do not.

The enhanced subsidies — which are for plans purchased on the Health Insurance Marketplace — are set to expire at the end of the year. According to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, the subsidies expiring is projected to cause 4.2 million Americans to lose their health insurance by 2034.

Thousands of West Virginians in particular will be impacted if the health care subsidies end. About 67,000 West Virginians buy their health care on the marketplace. 

The West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy said that West Virginians who buy insurance through the marketplace will see their premiums increase by an average of 133% or $1,400 annually if the subsidies end. About 15,000 West Virginians will lose health care altogether because they cannot afford it any more, according to the center. 

Since the shutdown started, Republicans — who hold the presidency as well as majorities in both the U.S. House and Senate — have lobbed blame at Democrats and vice versa. 

In his comments Friday, Morrisey, a Republican, largely followed suit. 

He said Republicans under President Donald Trump are only trying to do “reasonable things” while Democrats are “politicizing” the shutdown and the efforts to pass a continuing resolution for the nation’s spending bill.

Numerous polls from just before the shutdown began and after it started are showing that a majority of Americans nationwide are blaming Trump and Republicans for the shutdown more than Democrats.

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West Virginia Watch is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. West Virginia Watch maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Leann Ray for questions: info@westvirginiawatch.com.