Season of sequestration

Since the Koch-Funded Tea Baggers have steadfastly refused to eliminate loopholes, stop subsidies for Big Corporations or Dirty Energy, we're left to share the ignorance of Sequestration.

Many of the cuts that will prevent the U.S. as a nation from being competitive won't be readily seen.

 

Season of sequestration

Federal cuts impact visitors, jobs

Article | May 7, 2013 - 7:00am | By Teresa Martin

NOAA's Woods Hole Science Aquarium remains open, although
sequestration cuts mean shortened winter hours remain in effect
all summer long. Photo by Teresa Martin.
 

May typically marks the start of visitor season at the National Seashore -- but on the bright sunny first week of May, the Province Lands Visitor Center in Provincetown remained closed.

The bright yellow tape across the stairs and a hand lettered "May 25" taped over the information sign signaled to the cars and RVs roaming through the parking lot that the summer of 2013 won't be business as usual.

Region wide jobs, visitor services, infrastructure

The visitor center is hardly alone. From the tip of Provincetown to the tip of Woods Hole, the fingers of the federal sequestration cuts are beginning to squeeze the region's critical seasonal economy.


In a triple hit, the cuts are expected to hit seasonal jobs, visitor services, and infrastructure. From interpretive services, to hours of operation, to planned capital improvements, the outcome of the financial standoff in Washington DC comes home to roost in a myriad of places far outside the Beltway.

Frustration, coupled with determination to keep functioning despite potentially crippling mandatory cuts, characterized responses from organizations forced to grapple with the on-the-street realities of the sequestration.

NOAA nixes summer hours

In Woods Hole, the gentle, low-key Woods Hole Science Aquarium on Water St. offers families a peek behind the scenes at research, and a chance to leisurely watch a striped bass patrol a tank or dogfish embryos wiggle in their eggs. Its two resident harbor seals take their meals in public and serve as sort of goodwill ambassadors from the sea.

To accommodate the high demand from Falmouth's surge of seasonal visitors, the small aquarium typically opens seven-days-a-week during the summer. However, this year, a Tuesday through Saturday, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. winter schedule stays in effect, as funds for expanded hours went down the sequestration drain.

Trying to maintain weather, fisheries

According to NOAA's Ciaran Clayton, the agency will also see four days of furloughs over the two summer months across all departments - including the weather and fisheries so essential to Cape industries - and a hiring freeze that impacts both permanent and seasonal jobs.

With 7% of the agency's bottom line budget eliminated and 12,000 employees, Clayton says NOAA is trying to find a balance - keeping mission critical weather and fisheries functions as intact as possible within the sequestration demands.

Monomoy reduces hours, jobs, maintenance

According to Terri Edwards from the US Fish and Wildlife Service, Monomoy National Wildlife Refuge will have shorter hours, fewer seasonal employees, and deferred repairs.

Instead of its usual seven day a week schedule, the refuge will cut back to six days, although which day gets the federal ax hasn't yet been confirmed.

In addition, significantly fewer seasonal staff means both a drop in seasonal employment for the region and a drop in ranger-led tours and programming for visitors. On a more pragmatic note, financial savings will also come from reduced restroom maintenance.

Infrastructure Impacts

Although less visible, cuts in investment in physical infrastructure and knowledge infrastructure create more long-term impact for the Chatham-based wildlife refuge, currently best known for it burgeoning seal population.

For example, needed repairs to the Monomoy Lighthouse are on hold, delaying its reopening to the public. A full-time biologist position won't be filled, either. The biologist was to have been part of a wildlife survey project to inform refuge management decisions.

Regional air travel impacts

Capital projects and plans for next budget year loom large on Barnstable Municipal Airport manager Bud Breault.

Although Congress put air traffic controllers back into the towers, that represented only a short term solution - and came at potential cost to critical infrastructure improvements.

"What we saw was just a temporary fix for this fiscal year," explained Breault.

"It is a temporary fix taking money from the airport improvement program used by the FAA and airports to improve and maintain facilities."

Capital improvement uncertainty

Breault says that taxiways and deicing - safety and environmental issues - are at risk.

Hyannis has been readying for two near-term safety driven projects, including a de-icing pad and the planned installation of a special engineered material strip that, in the case of a runway incident, would prevent planes from rolling into Route 28.

Bigger threat in October

The tower in Barnstable was unaffected by the most recent sequester-based controller furloughs because of its high commercial flight activity. The airport is the third busiest commercial and cargo airport in state.

However, next fiscal year could well be another story. Come October 1 the Barnstable Municipal Airport's new tower could shut down, as could more than 300 other towers around the country, mostly in smaller towns.

These towers, including eight in Massachusetts (Barnstable, Martha's Vineyard, New Bedford, in this region), operate under contract by private operators through FAA funding. Eight controllers man the Hyannis tower from 6 am to 10 pm every day.

"If towns or state or other agencies have the funds to pay, they could keep the towers open," explained Breault.

"But like most, we don't have the money; we're very close to margin on the budget. If we don't have funds [from the FAA], our new $7M tower will have to shut down - and there's a reason for these towers: safety!"

National Seashore

The National Seashore draws visitors to the Outer and Lower Cape. The impact of visitors to the park extends to a whole suite of seasonal businesses.

Luckily, the National Park Service (NPS), funds the 50 lifeguards, the canoe tours, and the off-road vehicle program through user fees. Beaches and trails will open as usual.

However, other visitor services come under the sequestration hammer.

Visitor center, interpretation programs shrunk

Sequestration chops $376,000 from the National Seashore budget between March and September, said George Price, Superintendent of the National Seashore.

"At this time of year, we have limited places to cut those monies, so it all comes out of summer seasonal programs," he said.

That translates into 19 fewer employees, the majority of whom work in interpretation, as well as a smaller number in law enforcement, custodial, and resource management.

Fewer options

Interpretation programs - the educational programs that range from Salt Pond walks to low tide tours that help people understand both natural and cultural attributes of the seashore - typically serve about 46,000 people each year. But not this summer.

Visitors to the park will see dramatically reduced programming at both the Salt Pond Visitor Center in Eastham and the Province Lands Visitor Center in Provincetown and, along with reduced hours at the Province Land Visitor Center, form the most visible cuts.

Other cutbacks won't be as visible, but will, as in Monomoy, have lasting impact on the knowledge infrastructure.

Two seasonal jobs in the natural resources management program have fallen prey to the cuts - cutting back inventory and monitoring projects within the Seashore.

Friends step in

It could have been a lot worse, though: Originally, the popular Province Lands Visitor Center had been scheduled for a complete shut down.

"That really sounded disastrous to us!" said Dick Spokes, president of Friends of the Cape Cod National Seashore, which stepped in and through a private funds gift of $25,000 gave the visitor center a reprieve, at least from Memorial Day through Labor Day.

A natural decision

"There was an article about what sequester would mean to the Seashore and at least four directors immediately emailed George Price [park superintendent] and said, 'Wait a minute! You can't let the visitors center close!' We're here, we have people who would volunteer and if necessary we might have funds we could contribute to keep the doors open," said Spokes.

The board held an emergency meeting and quickly came to a unanimous decision. As Spokes succinctly summarized, "Well of course, we have to do this."

"Look at the Provincetown and Truro economy - if the [Province Lands] visitor center closed," he explained. "That's the first place a visitor goes - closing it would have hurt the economy. So what can we do here not only helps the park but the area as well."

Beyond the summer

"We're very grateful for the Friends," said Price. "We can at least have the doors open for the main part of the summer season - it's terrific!" he said.

Despite the short-term respite, he - and the Friends - worry about what happens outside of the core summer months. They also flag longer term issues, much as the airport's Breault did, asking what happens in the upcoming federal fiscal year.

"The shoulder season - it's really popular," said Price. "Contrary to popular belief, we do have visitors other than July and August!" he said with smile.

Spokes was more direct about his group's longer term concerns.

"In addition to the sequester, Congress has reduced the national park service budget. So its really a double hit," he said.

"And we're just one little park...think of it nation-wide. It's really sad. This was a gift to our generation and we have to perpetuate it and preserve it."

(Photo above: A handwritten number taped over the Province Lands Visitor Center at the National Seashore in Provincetown advises visitors that the center won't be opening until May 25, instead of the normal May 1. The federal government's sequester would have shuttered the center completely, but a gift from the private Friends of the Cape Cod National Seashore will allow the center to open from Memorial Day to Labor Day. Photo by Teresa Martin.)

http://www.capecodtoday.com/article/2013/05/07/18629-season-sequestration