The government shutdown at Acadia National Park and the remainder of the country ended on Wednesday night, clearing the way for the park to reinstate entrance fees, return staff to work and repair and reopen a popular boardwalk hiking path.

In Washington, the House of Representatives on Wednesday night voted 222-209 to pass a Senate-approved bill that temporarily funds the government. President Donald Trump then signed the bill into law on Day 43 of the shutdown, the longest in history.

“It’s an honor to sign this incredible bill and get our country working again,” Trump said at a bill signing event.

What does it mean for Acadia National Park?

The free ride for visitors will be over. During the shutdown, which began on Oct. 1, entrance passes for the national park were not required. If Acadia returns to normal, entrance passes will be reinstated. The Park Loop Road fee station near Sand Beach was closed during the federal government shutdown at Acadia but it is expected to reopen with rangers who will sell passes to those without one. Automated fee machines, closed during the shutdown, are also expected to be running again.

Shutdown robs National Park Service of entrance fees

During the federal government shutdown at Acadia, the National Park Service missed out on collecting about $1.5 million in fees for the busy month of October, according to Friends of Acadia. Do the math. At $35 for a 7-day entrance pass, that means about 40,000 vehicles took advantage of the pass-free policy during the shutdown and the NPS lost out on significant dollars needed for operations. Entrance passes are required year-round at Acadia.

The Friends of Acadia raised just over $30,000 through a new visitor entrance fee donation program. Withe shutdown over, Acadia National Park staff will return to work after being furloughed during the shutdown.

Friends of Acadia reported that more than half the staff was on furlough including Superintendent Kevin Schneider. The bill signed by Trump also provides back pay to all federal employees who worked during the shutdown and were not paid. A 2019 law assures back pay for furloughed employees who did not work during the shutdown. Furloughed employees at Acadia missed their first full paycheck on Oct. 28, according to FOA.

During the shutdown, staff who remained at work provided basic visitor services including maintenance of restrooms, and sanitation, trash collection, road maintenance, campground operations, law enforcement and emergency operations. Of the staff that worked during the shutdown, most worked without pay, and will be paid when the shutdown ends. The NPS says about 90 permanent employees work at Acadia.

“We’re thankful that furloughed staff can return to the park and that everyone will receive back pay. We know this has been an incredibly stressful time,” Perrin Doniger, vice president of communications and marketing at Friends of Acadia, told us in an email.

Information and sale of some passes are available through the winter at the Bar Harbor Chamber of Commerce’s office at the corner of Cottage and Main Streets in downtown Bar Harbor. During the shutdown, the Hulls Cove Visitor Center closed on Oct. 1 and did not reopen. It normally closes on Oct. 31 each year and reopens in May.

Most of Park Loop Road to close to vehicles on Dec. 1

The Park Loop Road was open to vehicles during the government shutdown at Acadia and will remain open until Dec. 1 when it is mostly closed to vehicles and open for biking, walking and other recreation. From Dec. 1 to mid-April, Ocean Drive, about a 2-mile section of the loop road, will remain open to vehicles between Schooner Head Road at the fee station and Otter Cliff Road near the Fabbri picnic area. The entire Park Loop Road opens to vehicles in mid-April.

The Cadillac Mountain Summit Road was open to vehicles with reservations until the reservation system ended on Oct. 26 and then was open to vehicles after that with no reservations required during the government shutdown at Acadia. The Summit Road was closed to vehicles on Nov. 11 because of icy conditions, so check the park’s website for updates. The summit road closes on Dec. 1 each year.

Echo Lake Beach is open until Dec. 1, according to the park website.

Thompson Island Picnic Area is open until Dec. 1.

Fabbri, Seawall and Frazer Point picnic areas on Schoodic Peninsula are open year-round.

Look for the Jesup Path boardwalk to be repaired and reopened. It was closed for about the past 2-3 weeks during the shutdown, reportedly because of rotted planks.

The Sieur de Monts Nature Center, Rockefeller Hall Welcome Center on the Schoodic Peninsula and Wild Gardens of Acadia were closed during the shutdown and are now closed for the season. The Rockefeller welcome center will reopen in May and the Nature Center in mid-June.

Government shutdown at Acadia nixes Take Pride in Acadia Day

Because of the shutdown, the Take Pride in Acadia Day, an annual volunteer cleanup of leaves and drainage ditches along the carriage roads set for Nov. 9, was canceled for the first time ever since it started in 1991. The Friends of Acadia organizes the event each year.

“I’m very sad to be reaching out to let you know that unfortunately, due to the ongoing government shutdown, we made the difficult decision to cancel this year’s Take Pride in Acadia Day,” Doniger, vice president of communications and marketing at Friends of Acadia, told us in an email on Nov. 4. “The volunteer event requires close coordination with Acadia National Park staff, who are currently furloughed, and federal shutdown guidelines prevent us from proceeding under these circumstances.”

“We postponed the event by one week this year, moving it from November 1 to November 9, in hopes that the government might reopen in time for the new date. End-of-day Monday (Nov. 3) was our deadline to make a decision in order to give our caterer, vendors, and out-of-town volunteers adequate notice.”

The state-owned Acadia Gateway Center in Trenton closed on Oct. 15 during the government shutdown at Acadia and is expected to reopen in May. The NPS information desk at the Gateway Center was closed during the shutdown.

Ranger programs were canceled during the shutdown. In the past, some ranger programs have been offered during the winter. Education programs for local schools and recruitment for next year’s seasonal staff, halted during the shutdown at Acadia, could resume.

The Jordan Pond House restaurant was open during the shutdown but closed for the season on Oct. 26. It normally opens in mid-May.

In Washington on Wednesday night, the House of Representatives, returning to session for the first time since Sept. 19, voted to approve a bill to fund the government through Jan. 30. The US Senate had voted 60-40 to pass the bill on Monday.

The legislation also includes three appropriations bills that fund a number of agencies and activities through the end of the federal fiscal year, including military construction and family housing activities, Veterans Affairs, the Food and Drug Administration and the Department of Agriculture. The bill, according to a summary, nullifies layoffs of federal workers that the Trump administration implemented during the shutdown, bans agencies from laying off workers through Jan. 30 and finances the SNAP food assistance program for the rest of the current fiscal year.

Schumer warns people will die without health insurance

The US Senate, controlled 53-47 by Republicans, had previously voted 14 times to defeat a short-term funding bill after it was approved by the House on Sept. 19. The stalemate in Washington broke the prior record of 35 days for a shutdown set in the winter of 2018-2019.

Democrats in the Senate had blocked approval because they wanted the bill to include an extension of tax credits for people on Obamacare that expire on Dec. 31. The Democrats lost that fight, but did win a promise for a vote in the Senate on extending the subsidies for the Affordable Care Act.

Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer of New York, who opposed the bill, said Obamacare premiums will skyrocket without the tax credits. He warned in one speech on the Senate floor that  “people will go bankrupt, people will get sick, people will lose insurance, people will fail to get the care they need and more people – more people – will needlessly die.”

People sign up for Obamacare health insurance if they don’t have coverage through an employer or are ineligible for Medicare or Medicaid.

Ultimately, Senate Republican Leader John Thune agreed to hold a vote on the extension of the tax credits no later than the second week of December. Seven Democrats and one independent then voted for the short-term funding bill to reopen the government, giving the Senate the 60 votes it needed for approval.

Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-NH, said the offer for the vote “was the only deal on the table.”

House Speaker Mike Johnson said he applauded the seven Senate Democrats and one independent, Angus King of Maine, who voted in support of the bill, saying they put principle above personal politics. “This has gone on too long,” Johnson said of the shutdown at a press conference before the House vote. “Too many people have suffered.”

Rep. Jared Golden, a Maine Democrat whose district includes Bar Harbor, was among six Democrats in the House to vote in favor of the bill, providing Johnson a cushion to get the bill to Trump’s desk, The Hill reported.

“Now, with the shutdown ended, Congress should take immediate action to extend expiring ACA premium tax credits that keep health insurance plans affordable for millions of Americans,” Golden, who is not running for re-election, said in a statement he posted on X. “We still have a window to pass bipartisan legislation to extend these credits.”

Republicans, led by Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-LA, are offering a plan to create pre-funded flexible spending accounts for people on Obamacare, who could shop for health insurance and directly pay for health insurance. Cassidy said the tax credits go to insurance companies, which he said hide the costs behind confusing bills and rising premiums. “We can give Americans the tools and the trust to pay for their care directly at fair prices with total transparency,” Cassidy said in a speech on the Senate floor.