Despite Shutdown, the Presidio Remains Open

I'm not usually news-y in my posts. I'm mainly just posting this for you, my friends and family who will probably hear it from me here before we have a chance to talk or text. 

Ugh...the Federal Government has shut down! Citizens are locked out of National Parks. As the article linked mentions, this is really bad news for tourism-related businesses near Yosemite already hugely affected by the finally contained Rim Fire.

GGNRA gate daisy chain, Marin, 2012.

The Presidio of San Francisco, where I work as a biotech, is largely unaffected by the shutdown: we are financially self-sustaining as of the current fiscal year. As such, the Presidio remains open despite the shutdown. 

However, the Volunteer Agreement under which our volunteers work is a National Park Service agreement -- when volunteers donate their services, they actually do the opposite of "waiving" their rights; they become protected under NPS' workers compensation insurance.

I'm selfishly hoping that as a result, I will have the opportunity to lead a few extra bird walks during our regularly scheduled program times for volunteers who still want to come enjoy the Presidio. Maybe my fellow biotechs will want to do plant walks too. My NPS colleagues will have to stay home...without pay, at least until the government kicks in again and they receive back-pay.