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The Dispatch/Maryland Coast Dispatch
October 4, 2013
. . Assateague State Park Busy With Fed Services Closed
FROM PAGE 10 leave, but one bright spot is that most will be able to go over to the state park and make arrangements to camp. It’s not the busiest time of the year, obviously, but we do have quite a large number of campers. Unfortunately, many have planned their trips here for a long time and now they will be asked to leave.” Daigneault said most of the Assateague Island National Seashore’s staff will not be working for the duration of the shutdown, but a skeleton crew will remain on the island. She said about five law enforcement officers will remain on the island, along with four maintenance personnel and one employee to keep the equipment in the Visitor’s Center aquariums up and running. She was uncertain about the exact number of employees that will be furloughed during the shutdown, but estimated it at around 40. The closure of the Assateague Island National Seashore on Tuesday created some initial confusion about the status of the entire barrier island, but the Assateague State Park remains open and is accommodating the spillover of visitors as best as possible. Assateague Park Manager Angela Baldwin, who has worked at the facility for 16 years but took the reins just this week, is getting a baptism by fire of sorts in her new leadership position. Baldwin said Thursday the state park has been able to absorb much
cleared out. Safety is our biggest concern.” The closure of the Assateague Island National Seashore, coupled with the Seagull Century and the near-perfect weather have conspired to create summer-like conditions at the Assateague State Park. On top of that, a nice early fall swell had surfers flocking to the barrier island all week. “Earlier in the week, the waves were perfect, and we saw a ton of surfer traffic in the park,” said Baldwin. “All of that adds up to a busy time at the park despite the time of year, but we’re managing just fine.” Meanwhile, Daigneault said she was uncertain just how long the shutdown would last, although Park Service officials remain hopeful it will be brief. “We in the Park Service tend to be optimistic, but it’s hard to predict,” she said. “The one thing we understood early on when this presented itself is that it would be very prudent for us to prepare for a shutdown and be proactive so that getting everybody off the federal side of the island would be timely and efficient.” Meanwhile, Wallops Island National Spaceport on the Virginia coast just south of Assateague also closed on Tuesday as a result of the federal government shutdown. Public Information Officer Keith Koehler said the base’s employees were notified of the closure on Tuesday morning and the base was officially closed sometime Tuesday evening.
A message board is pictured on Bayberry Road informing visitors the federal side of Assateague Island is closed until the government “shutdown is over.” Photo by Shawn Soper
of the overflow from the closed federal side this week, but there have been some challenges. “It’s working out okay so far,” she said. “There has been a lot of confusion early on about national park closure, but we’re trying to accommodate folks the best we can. We have seen a considerable increase in visitation at the state park all week.” Baldwin said there were a few campsites available in the state park for Thursday night, but the campsites were already booked for Friday and Saturday nights. All of the day-use areas in the state park remain open, although Baldwin was warning residents and visitors Saturday will likely be hectic because of
the annual Seagull Century, which includes hundreds of bicyclists cruising through Assateague. Under normal conditions, the cyclists would access both the state and federal sides, but because of the closure, the event will be concentrated in the state park. “During the Seagull Century, we expect extreme congestion, especially between 9 a.m. and noon,” she said. “On a typical Seagull Century Saturday, there are a lot of bicycles interacting with regular visitor traffic, but with the federal side closed, we expect extreme congestion. We’re asking folks to avoid coming to the state park until later in the afternoon when the event has
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