PHOENIX β Arizona officials are guaranteeing the Grand Canyon National Park will remain in full operation if Congress fails to pass a budget and a government shutdown ensues.
Republican Gov. Doug Ducey said Friday that the state's top tourist attraction "will not close on our watch, period."
Ducey spokesman Patrick Ptak says the state parks and tourism agencies plan to provide up to $100,000 to ensure lodging, campgrounds and restaurants remain open.
The U.S. Interior Department says national parks and other public lands will remain as accessible as possible if a shutdown happens. That's a change from previous shutdowns, when most parks were closed and became high-profile symbols of dysfunction.
Arizona paid about $100,000 a day to keep the Grand Canyon open in 2013 but was eventually reimbursed by the federal government.
