Minute Man National Historic Park in Concord faces $137,000 cut due to federal budget impasse

By Todd Feathers, Globe Correspondent

The bathrooms and campsites will be cleaned, although perhaps not as often. There will still be park rangers leading tours, but perhaps not as many.

The $137,000 budget reduction at Minute Man National Historic Park in Concord, part of the automatic spending cuts in the federal budget triggered by an impasse over how to reduce the federal budget deficit, is being distributed so as to affect visitors as little as possible, said park superintendent Nancy Nelson.

The majority of the cuts will come in the form of fewer seasonal workers and delays on replacing equipment, she said.

The park will still open as scheduled. Nelson said rangers will likely have to lend a hand with basic maintenance, while volunteers help with guided tours and staffing visitor centers.

The “sequestration” cuts are a result of a political standoff between Democrats and Republicans over how to reduce the federal deficit. The onerous cuts were agreed to by Congress and the president as an incentive to negotiators to reach a deal. But no deal has been reached.