JACKSON, Wyo. — Congressional stubbornness didn’t stop Grand Teton National Park from having a record year in 2013.

An improving economy and heightened consumer confidence helped bump visitation by 5 percent in a year where the partial federal government shutdown, sequestration and stagnating budgets could have dampened the park’s upbeat charm.

The only major fires park officials extinguished were metaphorical blazes from Washington and unruly guests.

The park saw 4.1 million visitors compared to 3.9 million in 2012. The numbers were impressive considering the 16-day shutdown that forced park officials to close the gates on visitors who traveled from all over the world to enjoy the Tetons in October.

The park saw 63,838 less people in October 2013 than it did the year before.

“The fact that we were shut down in a relatively popular month was encouraging and pleasantly surprising to be up by that much,” Grand Teton spokeswoman Jackie Skaggs said.

More with less

Grand Teton and the nation’s other parks were asked to do more with less in 2013. Sequestration cut 6 percent from park budgets. On top of the automatic cuts was an additional 6 percent Congress chopped from bottom lines in the preceding two years.

Congress passed a budget on Jan. 15 that keeps national park funding at 2005 levels when accounting for inflation, said John Garder, director of budget and appropriations for the National Parks Conservation Association. It also postpones the cuts imposed by sequestration on the federal budget for two years.

“The current budget for the National Park Service is $94 million, or 4 percent lower than the average budget over the last decade in today’s dollars,” Garder said.

The decrease in funds have forced park officials to hire less seasonal employees, close roads, delay openings, reduce services and take on additional duties.

A norovirus outbreak, a stabbing, car chases and other unexpected roadblocks popped up during Grand Teton’s six-month season.

But the visitors kept on coming.

Sequestration would have delayed the opening of Yellowstone National Park by two weeks if it weren’t for a compromise between Wyoming, Montana and the federal government.

Beartooth Highway is Yellowstone’s northeastern inlet. Snow pack on the road can stand more than 15 feet high in the spring, the ultimate road block keeping visitors out of the park entrance during the winter.

The budget constraints forced park officials to delay the plowing 200 miles of primary road, nearly 125 miles of secondary roads, and 125 acres of parking lots required to open Yellowstone on time. But residents and park advocates raised about $200,000 in private money to remove snow on Beartooth and areas inside the park.

The park opened on time and visitors poured in, Yellowstone spokesman Al Nash said.

“It was a unique and innovative approach,” Nash said. “That circumstance reinforced the support we feel from the state and communities.”

Officials were concerned the support wouldn’t come again in 2014. But with sequestration on pause for two years, Nash said park officials are optimistic they won’t need outside help to clear Beartooth this spring.

“We won’t know with any finality what our budget for the remainder of the fiscal year will look like for some period of time,” Nash said.

Tourism tax dollars

Yellowstone changed the multiplier it uses to calculate the number of visitors in hopes of getting more accurate numbers, Nash said.

Even with the change in calculation, 2013 was the fifth-highest visitation year on record, Nash said.

“We didn’t have a record year,” Nash said. “But we had a really good year.”

The total number of recreational visitors to Yellowstone was 3,188,032 last year, Nash said.

Visitation is a litmus test for the health of tourism industry in the state.

The town of Cody saw a 4 percent jump in lodging tax revenues in 2013, said Scott Balyo, Cody Country Chamber of Commerce executive director.

It came as a surprise because Cody lost hundreds of thousands of dollars in spending thanks to the 16-day shutdown.

“Despite all the challenges, it ended up being a good year for Cody and Park County,” Balyo said.

He has one hope for 2014: “Let’s get back to normal,” he said.

The town of Jackson saw a 6.2 percent increase in lodging tax revenue, Jeff Golightly, Jackson Hole Chamber of Commerce executive director, said. The community lost about $4 million per day because of the shutdown. Cody lost more than $200,000.

“All of the gateway communities and tourism economy of the U.S. is so dependent on the national parks,” he said. “That translates to tons of jobs for Wyoming’s number-two economic sector. The whole state has a huge stake in the stability of the parks. We need to make sure the traveling public, both domestic and international, understand the park will be open for business.”

Wyoming’s data for tourism tax revenue will be released in the coming weeks, but state officials are expecting that last year was the best ever.

“I feel really positive about the 2013 season,” said Diane Shober, director of the Wyoming Office of Tourism. “I believe at a minimum we will be where we were in 2012.”

Wyoming generated $128 million in tax revenues from tourism in 2012, a 7.6 percent increase over taxes generated by tourism in 2011.

The number of visitors to the state also grew by 4 percent from 8.34 million in 2011 to 8.67 million in 2012.

National forest numbers

The state’s national forests also saw steady numbers despite budget shortfalls.

It’s harder to calculate overall visitation because forests don’t have gates like the parks. Instead they use sales from campgrounds, picnic areas, rental cabins, Christmas tree sales and other amenities.

Visitation at the Big Horn National Forest remained the same in 2013. Forest officials had to close the Burgess Junction Visitor Center because of budget cuts but were able to channel the money to other areas.

“It’s a stark realization of the local economy,” Susie Douglas, Big Horn National Forest spokeswoman, said. “But I didn’t hear any complaints.”

The Medicine Bow National Forest saw a 27 percent increase in visitation, said Aaron Voos, forest spokesman.

The enormous boost comes from the mild fire season, reopening of areas decimated by pine beetle infestation and the reopening of a closed visitor center, Voos said.

The usage on the forest was still at an average level, he said.

At the Ryan Park campgrounds there were 482 reservations in 2012. In 2013 it inched up to 483.

“Despite some variables with fire and hazard tree removals, it appears things are normal and stayed average,” he said.

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