Active duty Coast Guard officers are still at work during the federal government shutdown.
Coast Guard workers - including citizens who work in rescue operations - remain at work during the shutdown.
Petty Officer Brian McCrum is with the Coast Guard. He said staff are not currently being paid.
“As of the first onward we are not being paid depending on when they come to a resolution however we can expect back pay whenever we are fully funded.”
McCrum said essential duties include clean up of hazardous material, protection of life and property, and law enforcement.
He said Coast Guard mission readiness may deteriorate depending on how long the government shutdown lasts.
The shutdown also impacts workers at the Pictured Rocks, Sleeping Bear Dunes, Huron-Manistee National Forest, and Isle Royale National parks.
Kerry Kelly is with Friends of Sleeping Bear Dunes, a non-profit organization that helps maintain the park. He said volunteer workers are helping with park upkeep while federal employees are gone.
“They are all laid off right now. They are all in furlough. We feel bad for them because even though they may eventually get paid they aren’t getting paid right now and so what do you do?”
Kelly said Friends of Sleeping Bear Dunes members help maintain a few trails and keep an eye on things during the shutdown.
But, he said, some basic park functions - things like emptying the restrooms - will require the return of federal employees.