With Yosemite Gateways still reeling from the Rim Fire, a government shutdown that forces Yosemite National Park to close will hit this region with a one two punch that will have crippling effects to our communities. It could take years to recover. Some businesses may not even survive.

The trickle down impact from over 1600 employees being laid off or furloughed from both the National Park Service and the Concessionaires inside that park will add to the disastrous effect this government shutdown yields on our local businesses. For our small rural community this equates to approximately 25% of our workforce. These unintended victims will have to hold off on purchases, cut back on simple things like dining out, and perhaps even feel it necessary to delay medical treatments. Thus deepening the effect of the government closure has on all of us.

When this happened seventeen years ago, it was winter time. We are still on the high end of our shoulder season, plus we need to account for seventeen years of inflation. Therefore, we can only anticipate the damage to be the same if not worse than it was in 1995. Then lodging occupancy dropped by 80% in Mariposa County. The concessionaire inside Yosemite National Park lost between $200,000 and $300,000 a day with hundreds of thousands more being lost daily from the gateway's outside of Yosemite.

The lack of revenue from sales tax and transient occupancy tax would also negatively impact our local and state economy well into next year, as the lack of tax revenue hits those coffers.

The Mariposa County Chamber of Commerce asks you to contact your Senator, your Congressman, and the President. Urge them to find a way to come together on budget for the benefit of Americans everywhere.