WALKER COUNTY, Texas — The park ranger’s office at Sam Houston National Forest is shut down and campers could be locked out in days.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture office at the national forest left a notice on the door to explain the closure is due to the lapse in federal government funding.
The closure means there’s no staff for park maintenance or rangers for search and rescue.
“At the end of the day there’s no rangers," said Erik Sondersted. “There’s no help if something goes wrong.”
Sondersted’s family joined dozens of others checking in at the ranger office before hiking. They didn’t know the government shutdown would affect national forest staffing.
Noah Pallett’s family will be locked out of their recreation area on Jan. 2, 2019 if no spending bill is approved.
“That’s unfortunate not to come out and enjoy something like this,” said Pallett.
KHOU 11 News did reach one state forest employee who said if people are lost inside on national forest property, they should call 911.
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