Nonprofit groups that oversee National Park Service heritage sites have closed offices, delayed programs and cut positions waiting for the Trump administration to release funding appropriated by Congress.
The 62 National Heritage Areas set aside in the Reagan-era program have been deemed significant for their history, cultural value or natural resources.
But nine months into the fiscal year that began last October, most of the organizations that manage the sites have yet to receive a dime from the federal government.
“We have probably 10 months of operation left before we run out of operating funds,” said Johnny Szlauderbach, director of communications and projects for the Freedom’s Frontier National Heritage Area in Lawrence, Kansas. The site closed its office, temporarily moving staff to the unused conference rooms of a local museum.
