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These places are fucked. Or, at least a noticeable portion of the pop is fucked. The foreign visitor spigot isn’t simply turned back on the moment don reaches some nonsense, ineffectual, PR designed “trade deal”. Don is hated and feared, thus, the US is hated and feared. An economically reverberating percentage of Canadians aren’t coming back, period. An economically reverberating percentage of Canadians Will, but only after years of grounded, good faith American governance- that timeline is many years out, possibly decades. Not to mention, if you’re Mexican or Japanese or Chinese or Korean, not only do you see the economic destruction by the US, but the very overt racism and danger that it’s already causing.Loading…
www.fastcompany.com
The chaos and uncertainties that have come with Trump’s executive actions reach all corners of the country and, as with the case of cutting funding to USAID, around the world. But Gardiner, perhaps like no other place, can be seen as an epicenter of loss following Trump’s decisions. Shutting down federal funding through the Park Service could cripple the town.
Gardiner was established shortly after the park opened in 1872 to foster a symbiotic relationship that continues today. Yellowstone and Gardiner are inextricable. The western part of the town’s public high school is technically inside the park, with local businesses, the Gardiner community library, and the chamber of commerce building all abutting the park boundary.
“Gardiner is a company town and Yellowstone is the mill,” said Richard Parks, who serves as the chair of the Gardiner Resort Area District. “If somebody starts screwing with the mill, we have no choice but to be concerned.”
In 2023, Yellowstone hosted 4.5 million visitors, contributing an estimated $828 million and 8,560 jobs to surrounding townships like Gardiner. Industries like rafting, horseback riding, guiding, and hospitality services are all booming subeconomies that depend on tourism to the park. Yellowstone’s foot traffic also provides bedrock funding to town infrastructure and community development through its resort tax—a 3% charge on reservations during peak season, which has helped raise public dollars for things like updated water and sewer systems, bear-proof trash cans, and new fire engines.
The full extent to which federal firings, hiring freezes, and funding cuts will ripple throughout communities like Gardiner is still unclear, Parks said. “We can’t gauge the magnitude yet.”
Lots of tourist towns are about to downsize.
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