The partial federal government shutdown had a profound impact not only on the federal workforce, but also on our national parks. However, out of each challenging situation comes positive stories of people rising above it to help however they can. Bexar County Heritage & Parks Department in San Antonio, Texas, is the source of one of those stories.

Bexar County Parks Division sponsors cooperative parks in association with the cities of San Antonio and Schertz, the San Antonio River Authority, the National Parks Service and the Catholic Archdiocese of San Antonio.

When Bexar Parks Division saw the maintenance needs increase at the San Antonio Missions, a national historic park, it approached NPS and asked if it could help. “We created an in-kind arrangement to maintain the park. Bexar provides the labor and NPS provides the supplies,” explains Ken McGlamery, Bexar County Parks manager. “For parks, visitation is everything. We want visitors to have a good experience at the missions, and we want to be good community partners.”

Bexar (pronounced Bear) employees are helping to maintain bathrooms, collect trash and cut grass at the San Antonio Missions National Historical Park. And, the department is prepared to continue to help as long as necessary, even if it means deferring some of its internal projects. “We have worked with the park rangers before and have a good relationship. We felt compelled to offer our assistance at this time,” McGlamery states.

Other organizations are stepping up to offer services too. The San Antonio River Authority has volunteered to help with landscaping and the city of San Antonio has offered to fund a limited number of staff.

The Missions receive more than 1 million visitors per year. During the shutdown, the chapels were closed because of security concerns, but Bexar Parks Division did what it could to ensure visitors continued to enjoy their experience.

Suzanne Nathan is NRPA’s Media Specialist.