TRIANGLE, Va. — Sequestration has come to Prince William Forest Park, and park visitors will soon notice some changes.
Between now and and the end of the park’s fiscal year on September 30, park officials said popular events like weekly campfire talks, Paws in the Park, Petrified Forest, and National Trails Day will all be eliminated for this summer. There will also be a reduction in the size and scope of the park’s Heritage Festival, a press release states.
Education programs like wildflower and wildlife talks, park rangers attending events at local schools, and group service projects with Boys and Girls scouts will be cut. Restrooms at the park will also be closed – at one of two at the Oak Ridge Campground, two at the Pine Grove Picnic Area, and the Telegraph Picnic area restroom will remain closed unless it has been rented out by a group, a press release states.
Vacant jobs at the park will go unfilled, including an Interpretative Park Ranger that normally works with volunteers and education programs. An auto worker position that would have helped maintain park vehicles will also go unfilled, and a custodial worker will be let go because of budget cuts.
The reductions amount to $168,000 from the park’s $3.3 million budget. Though the cuts are coming, officials at the park do not plan to close the gates to visitors.
The sequestration cuts were ordered at the park as part of federal spending reductions that took effect nationwide March 1.
A product of the 1930s conservation efforts, Prince William Forest Park offers 15,000 acres of forest, 37 hiking trails, four campgrounds, and five cabin camps. The park welcomes 330,000 visitors each year.
