National Parks around the country may be closed, but Utah governor Gary Herbert (R) wants to keep those in his state open.
Herbert penned a letter yesterday to President Obama requesting that the Beehive State be allowed to reopen the parks using its own resources. The state has five national parks.
“We have a solution in place,” the first-term governor wrote. “We just need, literally, the keys to the gates. I cannot overstate that time is of the essence.”
It’s not the only request that Obama has gotten from a Republican governor. Both Jan Brewer of Arizona and Dennis Daugaard of South Dakota have written him with similar requests. The administration rejected both of them.
“The unwarranted shutdown of the national parks and other federal facilities is devastating individuals and businesses that rely on these areas for their livelihood,” Herbert wrote, adding that the closures “must end immediately.”