Federal budget cuts and economic uncertainty are raising questions about what this summer will look like in gateway communities, the towns surrounding national parks. A group of businesses in Yellowstone recently asked Montana’s congressional delegation for help. That’s according to a report from Montana PBS’ AJ Williams. She sat down with MTPR's Elinor Smith to discuss what she found.
Elinor Smith: AJ, thank you so much for being here today.
AJ Williams Thanks for having me, Elinor.
Elinor Smith: Of course. So to start off, gateway towns are linked to national parks in a few ways. There are a lot of federal employees in the area, and they also rely on tourists having money to spend and to travel. What did you hear from businesses surrounding the park as they get ready for the summer season?
AJ Williams Yeah, so what we're hearing from business owners is really that, you know, when you think about your business being next to a national park it's really like being in a company town. What happens in the park is going to affect what happens outside of the park.
So with the federal workforce reductions, folks were let go from the National Park Service. And some of these are members of the communities who, you know, are a spouse who's living in the park and then there's a spouse outside of the park who has a job in the community, and maybe they have a few kids and all of a sudden this whole family, you know, might need to leave.
So, you know, there haven't been direct instances of that yet, but that's definitely an example that folks bring up because it's happening in other places, and they know it can happen to them as well.
Elinor Smith: And kind of narrowing in to some of these individual businesses in these towns surrounding Yellowstone. I know you spoke to a business owner named Richard Parks. Could you introduce us to him and how this situation is impacting his business?
AJ Williams Yeah, so Richard is the owner of Parks Fly Shop over in Gardiner. And it's a family business, so he grew up in the store that he now works in. Earlier this year, his guiding reservations were down significantly.
Richard Parks: Whether that'll last or not, we don't know. But, if it does, we're going to have a serious problem.
AJ Williams Now at this point in the season, we circled back with him, and he says that they're up more from where they were before. But you know, his wife is the owner of a bed and breakfast and her reservations are significantly down, especially from international tourists. And so they were looking at a tight season on that front.
And then lastly, you know, in his fly shop he sells a lot of imported goods. So, you know, he has mentioned that a number of items that are pretty critical to fly-fishing that he sells are not going to be in stock this year at this point. You know, talking to his suppliers, they're saying don't count on it getting there. So, you know, there's certainly concerns.
Elinor Smith: And I know some of these business owners have banded together to take action in response to this uncertainty. Could you explain what the Yellowstone Gateway Business Coalition is and how they're getting involved?
AJ Williams Yeah, so the Yellowstone Gateway Business Coalition is a group of 355 businesses and counting that has come together around this issue of the federal workforce reductions affecting their business. And really it was from seeing community members lose their jobs and realizing, you know, this is going to affect our business as well because we count on these local dollars, especially in off-season times. They wanted to do what they could to get one voice together to be able to bring their concerns to their congressional delegation of Montana.
Elinor Smith: So, many of these business owners, backed by county commissioners and the Gardiner Chamber of Commerce, they sent letters, they went to D.C., they reached out in multiple different ways to the Montana delegation. What did they hear in response to those inquiries?
AJ Williams So, talking to Michelle Uberuaga, who's a member of the Yellowstone Gateway Business Coalition, she said that they did feel heard, you know, talking to her after their D.C. trip.
They felt like their delegation understood their concerns. The one thing that they still are really concerned about, though, is that these positions are gone.
Michelle Uberuaga: Montanans understand that when you live in a rural community, you really depend upon each other. And when there are layoffs, it impacts everyone.
AJ Williams Again, they do feel like their delegation heard their concerns as far as what this could mean on the ground for the summer. And I think at this point it's just waiting to see what will play out and what action they'll be willing to take.
Elinor Smith: So, looping back to these individual business owners and their plans for the upcoming season, how have the individuals you've spoken to shifted their planning for the upcoming season around this uncertainty?
AJ Williams Yeah, that's a good question, Elinor. I mean, in a lot of cases, I would say that they're changing their expectations of what this summer could be. They're not expecting the same sort of tourism dollars just based on the economic uncertainties that people are going through. You know, the folks who are still going to do that summer or vacation may not be willing to shell out for the same kind of expensive dinner. You know, they're definitely expecting tourists to spend less discretionary dollars this year.
Elinor Smith: Well, AJ, thank you so much for being here today and for walking us through what you found out through your reporting.
AJ Williams Thanks so much, Elinor.
[Williams’ reporting will is featured on an episode of PBS Impact, which first aired on Montana PBS on May 8, 2025.]
