From Plant Press Vol. 16 no. 4, October 2013
By Gary A. Krupnick
Editor of The Plant Press
Head of the Plant Conservation Unit
This issue of The Plant Press, originally scheduled to be published during early October, is seeing a late release due to the U.S. government shutdown. The enforced shutdown was due to a lack of appropriations for fiscal year 2014. It occurred during the first 16 days of October and resulted in the closing of the Smithsonian Institution, all of its museums and the National Zoo. The majority of the federal staff was furloughed. The effect of the shutdown was significant on the activities of the U.S. National Herbarium and the livelihood of its workforce
Most Department staff members were sent home in a non-duty and non-pay status. Due to the Anti-Deficiency Act, we were specifically instructed not to conduct work at our workplace or any alternative worksite. We were not permitted to continue our research as an unpaid volunteer, and thus all of our studies were halted. Federal employees were not permitted to use or access any Smithsonian system including email, and we could be subjected to fines and legal actions for doing so. Employees were prohibited from using all Smithsonian issued equipment, including mobile devices, smartphones, tablets, and laptops. Visiting researchers who had planned to work in the herbarium suddenly found their research brought to a halt.
For those that were on travel, they were “furloughed in place.” Messages were sent to all travelers urging them to return to Washington, DC, if at all possible. Many of our botanists were scattered around the world, from field sites in Puerto Rico to the remote jungles of Asia. If they could not return, they were told that they should furlough in place and they would not be on official travel during the shutdown.
Meetings at the National Museum of Natural History and elsewhere were canceled, postponed and rescheduled. For instance, I am a principal investigator of the North American Orchid Conservation Center. I was scheduled to attend and participate at a 2-day workshop at the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center in Edgewater, Maryland, to discuss the progress of the project and to set goals for future activities. The workshop, originally scheduled on October 7-8, was canceled. Colleagues from locations such as the Atlanta Botanical Garden, Chicago Botanic Garden, Alaska Botanical Garden, the Royal Botanical Gardens Kew, and the New England Wild Flower Society had to cancel their flights. Similar circumstances occurred throughout the Department as researchers found themselves unable to participate and speak at scheduled workshops, meetings, and symposia.
The museum turned away an estimated 200,000 potential visitors during the shutdown. For the skeleton crew that was deemed essential to protect buildings and collections, they came to the museum each day to assure the safety and security of the specimens and artifacts. The crew found the halls empty and dark, which contrasted starkly to the usual lively and vibrant atmosphere of the museum. We are grateful to Cathy Hawks, who monitored the U.S. National Herbarium during our forced absence, and Chris Huddleston, who monitored the frozen DNA collections at the Museum Support Center. We also owe our gratitude to Leslie Brothers and Mike Bordelon who kept the living collections at the Research Greenhouses well-watered and healthy.
Fortunately for the Department’s federal work force, retroactive pay provisions were granted. Regrettably, the Department’s contractors are left without pay for that same time period. We’re still not out of the woods. Even though the shutdown has ended, the legislation extends current spending levels only to January 15, 2014, and the U.S. debt cushion through February 7, 2014. Here’s hoping that another shutdown does not occur this coming winter.
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