When the U.S. government shuts down, it doesn’t just impact Washington, D.C.; it affects folks, agencies, and even businesses everywhere. If a law that funds the federal government is not passed by Congress or is not signed by the president, a shutdown occurs. Many government operations must halt until an agreement is reached in the absence of such funds. These shutdowns are not new; since 1990, each shutdown has concluded with a “continuing resolution,” which is a temporary financing fix. On October 1, 2025, we started our most recent shutdown, and there is now no apparent conclusion in sight. The previous shutdown occurred in 2019, when a 35-day closure was the longest in U.S. history due to a disagreement over money for a border wall.

White House with a Out of Service sticker

It has been about three weeks now since the current funding dispute began, but what caused it in the first place? Republican and Democratic leaders couldn’t come to an agreement over the funding of government services. Both chambers of Congress are currently controlled by the Republican Party, who are a few votes short of the 60 votes they need in the Senate to overcome the filibuster. This partisan argument cannot be resolved until both parties come to an overall agreement. Already, the Department of Energy has said that it will cancel more than $7.5 billion in Biden-era awards for hundreds of energy projects. The White House has also canceled about $26 billion in previously approved funds allotted for climate and transportation projects, a majority of these being in states led by Democrats. These moves currently underscore how the Trump administration appears to be using this shutdown as a way to punish their political opponents.

While there are many agencies that will be affected from this shutdown, our major concern here is the shutdown of environmental agencies like the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the National Park Conservation Services (NPCA). On the first day of the shutdown, there was a general lack of consensus among environmental agencies over whether they would continue to operate or if only a skeleton team was required. After very little clarity on where the funding would be coming from to support agencies responsible for protecting the quality of America’s air and water, one thing was clear: the longer the shutdown lasted the more operations would be put to a halt. 

Building with flag

 

 

The EPA is already flailing due to massive staff cuts and dramatic shifts in priority and policy. Due to the shutdown, there are now even more concerns for the agency to not be able to carry out its initial founding mission of protecting America’s health and environment. Currently, about 90% of staff have been furloughed under a plan sought out by the Trump Administration; despite the fact that the majority of agency projects had run out of funding, staff are now only allowed to “work on activities (that) currently have funds available.” Some major elements of the agency include civil enforcement inspections, on-site visits to chemical facilities and various other plants that ensure compliance with environmental regulations, as well as the issuance of permits and new contracts. The cleanup of hazardous waste in areas known as superfund sites will now only be decided on a case-by-case basis. The hiatus will hopefully slow EPA administrator Lee Zeldin’s plan to repeal the agency’s endangerment finding, which currently allows the EPA to regulate greenhouse gas emissions because they endanger public health. This plan received pushback from many stakeholders, including some businesses and industries that argue repealing the EPA’s ability to regulate greenhouse gasses would lead to regulatory and legal uncertainty. With the majority of EPA employees being furloughed and feeling in a state of limbo, this plan may now be delayed.

Yosemite National Park sing

During the 2018-2019 government shutdown, a plethora of damage was inflicted on National Parks, including illegal offroading which damages ecosystems, cutting down trees integral to their surrounding communities, and the accumulation of waste throughout the parks. The first Trump administration kept parks open during this time, even though many of the staff members who help manage these parks were furloughed. The damage that accrued during this time took months to recover from, and in some cases, the damage was actually irreparable, with significant consequences in Joshua Tree, Death Valley, Big Bend, and many others. Despite the NPCA’s efforts to inform decisionmakers on what happened in the past and to preach urgency for closing the parks for their protection, the administration stated that the parks will remain partially open with hardly any staff and services available. The NPCA also faces other threats, with growing reports of massive staff terminations. Since around January, the NPCA has lost more than 25% of its current permanent staffing. Across all of America, there is a surge of park rangers getting laid off, visitor centers suddenly closing, crucial maintenance being put on the backburner, and research projects being cut due to a lack of people left to do these jobs. In the state these parks are in, if Congress fails to pass a new funding bill, then all national park units may be at risk of closing. Based on previous National Park Service (NPS) data, these parks could lose more than $1 million in fee revenue every day that they are closed. Already, nearly two-thirds of the park service staff are being put in a scary position of not knowing when their next paycheck will arrive. In addition, park concession partners and the surrounding local economy will also take a hit and could lose as much as $80 million in visitor spending every day the parks are closed during what happens to be their busiest months. 

Besides the EPA, NPCA, and NPS services, many other agencies are feeling the pain following the shutdown. Agencies like the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the Department of Energy (DOE) are also taking some heavy hits. Scientists working for NOAA who specialize in tracking storms, oceanic temperature, and long-term climate patterns have been forced to take a hiatus during this shutdown, leading to less reliable weather forecasts and gaps in important climate data that many other researchers depend on. The Department of Energy has had to cancel billions of clean energy and infrastructure projects being used to fight climate change and support local economies. Even programs under the U.S. Fish and Wildlife services are struggling with their own conservation efforts and wildlife monitoring after these projects were put on hold. In all respects, this shutdown doesn’t just slow paperwork down, it sets many of these fundamental environmental protections back and leaves many communities even more vulnerable than before to pollution, climate risks, and extreme weather. 

The federal government being shutdown may just sound like another political fight between parties, but the effects go beyond just the Capitol. When various environmental agencies are forced to take an unwarranted recess, pollution goes unchecked, national parks suffer tremendously, and climate research hits a pause. Our planet’s protection doesn’t wait for politics, and neither should we! Keeping ourselves informed, supporting local environmental organizations, and speaking up for climate action may seem miniscule, but in a time where our government is lacking, a little support from our community can be monumental. The future is in our hands!