Federal employees at area lakes and national parks are working again this morning after a three-day shutdown, but are funded only through Feb. 8.
Operations were in the process of being reduced to essential personnel when a short-term spending plan was passed by Congress and signed late Monday by the president.
Most employees at Wappapello Lake and the Ozark National Scenic Riverways were sent home by early afternoon Monday, according to officials. Clearwater Lake had enough funding left from its previous fiscal year to keep staff on through the day Monday.
The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs released information that most staff, including those at John J. Pershing VA Medical Center, would attend work as normal. Only some departments, including technology workers at the Poplar Bluff VA, would be sent home by the shutdown.
Representatives from Mingo National Wildlife Refuge were absent from activities Saturday at the Butler County Ag Expo because of the shutdown.
Managers spent the weekend compiling plans for both a short-term and long-term closure as they waited to see what legislators would accomplish.
Wappapello sent 20 staff members home at noon Monday and had planned to move campers out today, as facilities closed.
Gates would have been locked Tuesday at several areas, according to project manager Cindy Jackson.
Both Wappapello and Clearwater receive direction from their separate districts on how to proceed during a shutdown.
Both lakes would have allowed volunteers who oversee campgrounds to stay in the short-term, but long shutdowns sometimes require utilities to be shut off to some areas, said Fred Esser, acting project manager at Clearwater.
Wappapello would have continued to operate with five employees, while Clearwater planned to reduce to two staff members.
The Riverways expected to leave as many areas open as possible, but warned emergency and rescue services would be limited.
This is a change from a 2013 government shutdown, when barricades were placed to restrict visitor access to areas. This included the Big Spring area, which prompted protests from some residents and visitors.
In a notice Monday, the national park said campers would have been able to stay as long as there were no safety concerns.
No visitor services would have been available, including maintenance and trash collection, according to the park.