AMP to improve accessibility, basic visitor services

American Memorial Park staff mowes the grass at the AMP’s Court of Honor. (Contributed Photo)

HAGATNA, Guam—American Memorial Park announced that access is improving at the memorials and picnic areas. National Park Service officials have determined that by using Federal Land and Recreation Enhancement Act funds to immediately bring back maintenance crews to mow and collect trash, the park will be able to restore access for most recreational activities while ensuring the health and safety of our visitors. The maintenance crews will clean restrooms, remove trash, and trim/mow the most heavily visited areas for the safety and enjoyment of our community and our visitors.

Through a series of generous donations by our partner, Pacific Historic Parks, the visitor center and bookstore will continue to be open daily, but will remain on the current schedule of from 9:30am to 4pm. These donations have also enabled the park to continue providing educational programs such as the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) Big Read kickoff event on Feb. 2 at 3pm.

“We appreciate the on-going donations from Pacific Historic Parks,” said park superintendent Barbara Alberti. “Their efforts contributed significantly to our ability to maintain access and basic services to American Memorial Park from the beginning of the shutdown. While donations are still funding visitor center activities, we will now use recreation fee revenue to fund our basic maintenance services. We are also thankful for our island community’s patience during the past four weeks. We are proud to restore access to our park and appreciate our visitors helping us keep it clean by taking their trash home with them and practicing the Leave No Trace concept.”

The superintendent would especially like to thank Saipan Mayor David M. Apatang and his staff for coming to the park last Wednesday and yesterday to remove debris piles from hazard trees cut down after Super Typhoon Yutu. This will allow the park to reopen some of the paths that had been blocked. The park will continue recovery efforts following the resumption of normal government activities

Although some basic visitor services are being restored, other services may be limited or unavailable during the lapse in appropriations, including ranger talks, issuance of Special Park Use permits, and use of the visitor center theater. Additional information may be available at nps.gov/amme.

Information is subject to change throughout the duration of the federal government shutdown. National Park Service social media and websites may not be monitored or updated regularly and may not reflect current conditions. For updates on the shutdown, please visit www.doi.gov/shutdown. (PR)