An unprecedented donation is filling a gap during an unprecedented moment of government dysfunction.
ALSCO, a Utah-based uniform and linen company is giving $100,000 to three non-profits supporting Utah’s three busiest national parks while the Interior Department goes unfunded during the partial federal government shutdown.
The money will support basic custodial and visitor services at Zion, Arches, and Bryce Canyon National Parks through President’s Day. Extra money will keep the busiest, Zion, open through early March.
All three parks have remained open during the first 34 days of the shutdown with a combination of State and Non-Profit dollars.
Robert Steiner, the Co-C.E.O. of ALSCO announced the donation in a press conference with the Utah Department of Tourism.
“Many travelers have planned their trip to Utah for months if not years. We want them to remember the beautiful vistas, not piles of trash in the parks,” Steiner said.
The C.E.O. encouraged other businesses to donate.
The three parks supported by the donation welcomed more than 200 thousand visitors in February 2018. Utah is home to more than a dozen parks and monuments managed by the National Park Service. Those that are not getting funding, from Natural Bridges in the southeast to Golden Spike in the northwest, had more than 73 thousand visitors in February of 2018.
