The Federal Government Shutdown's Impact on the Nonprofit Partners of America's Public Lands

  

The 43-day government shutdown has had devastating impacts on nonprofit partners of public lands, including a loss of over $7.3 million in revenue, halting of critical conservation programs and infrastructure projects, and the termination or furlough of over 1,200 employees. Explore more impacts in the "Shutdown Industry Survey" graphic below. 

 

How PLA Supported its Members

 

Immediately following the start of the shutdown, PLA began compiling resources into a central hub for members. Resources included agency contingency plans, agency template agreements for conditional approval to stay open and support parks with donation dollars, constituent communications examples, and advice for federal grant recipients. 

PLA hosted weekly shutdown check-in meetings with executive leaders to share insights and information with the community. The knowledge shared during these meetings often resulted in additional resources for the shutdown resources page.

Impact data was collected weekly and shared with members of Congress. Although the shutdown was not contingent on a public lands issue, PLA felt it was critical that lawmakers understood the far-reaching impacts of the shutdown. 

Now that the shutdown is over, PLA has compiled final data from nonprofit partners on the impacts of the shutdown. Please see the graphic below for more details. 

 

Government Shutdown Industry Survey

The data represents impacts from 10.1 - 11.12

Click Here to download or view a larger version of the graphic

In Their Own Words: Members Reflect on PLA's Support During the Shutdown

 

"[PLA Check-ins] were a great source of information, but also a morale boost to talk with other partners navigating a difficult situation."

 

"It's always helpful to know what other organizations are doing. Also helpful to learn from the veteran experience within the group who are better connected on a regional or national level."

 

"The work you all are doing to pull our experiences and the impact together is extremely valuable. It's much appreciated 'on the ground'." 

 

"I found it kept me grounded to be able to check in with each other and hear about some of the successes and challenges. We learn a lot about possibilities in these situations when one of our peers has a breakthrough."

 

"The sense of community and leadership is incredibly helpful for a small local nonprofit partner of a federal agency. I enjoyed the concise summaries and hearing others share their experiences and struggles."

  

"It was great to hear the government updates from Shawn, and then the open discussion with the group provided a lot of insight and ideas, and advice."

 

"The survey results have been very helpful for our Friends group as well. We've shared the impacts in our newsletter. Your work is very appreciated!"