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Great Old Broads for Wilderness Calls for Federal Government to End Shutdown, Get Back to Work
DURANGO, CO—Great Old Broads for Wilderness, the only national environmental organization led by older women, calls on leaders in Washington to get back to the job of making government work.
Older women are known for using common sense to care for the people we love. The government shutdown is hurting the people we love–the communities who depend on public lands for strong economies and time outdoors. Public lands grow economies and bring high-paying jobs to local communities. Families make almost 1 billion visits per year to the lands and waters in public lands. Common sense tells us that taking away families’ jobs and outdoor opportunities is a bad idea.
The federal government is also using the shutdown as an excuse to cancel nearly $8 billion in cutting-edge energy projects that would protect our lands and waters while providing families with good jobs in high-growth industries. Common sense tells us that slashing win-win programs for growth in the midst of an economic slowdown is a bad idea.
America’s public lands were already facing unprecedented challenges due to overwhelming staffing cuts and slashed budgets. This federal government shutdown makes a bad situation even worse, especially with many national parks and monuments remaining open despite a lack of staff to properly manage them. Just as we saw during the last government shutdown six years ago, uncollected trash will pile up, bathrooms and other facilities will be closed, roads and trails will not be maintained, and sensitive natural and cultural areas will be left unmonitored and vulnerable to vandalism and destruction.
The last federal shutdown caused ecological damage that, in some places, may take decades to fully repair. This current shutdown could cause harm to our public lands that may be impossible to fix.
We cannot allow these harms to continue. Congress must put enforceable guardrails in place and pursue bipartisan negotiations to protect our environment and public lands.
Reba Elliott, Great Old Broads for Wilderness Executive Director, said, “As an organization led by older women, we apply a healthy dose of common sense to protect our families and the wild places we love. We expect the decision-makers in Washington to do the same. We call on them to get back to the job of making government work.”
About Great Old Broads for Wilderness:
Great Old Broads for Wilderness is the only national environmental organization led by older women, who preserve and protect the lands and waters we love and rely on. For more information, please visit our website at GreatOldBroads.org.
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