At Canaveral National Seashore, government shutdown turns around joy seekers

NEW SMYRNA BEACH — One by one they came, visitors and locals, down the long stretch of South Atlantic Avenue with the “NO EXIT TO MAINLAND” signs.

And one by one, they turned around and headed back.

Canaveral National Seashore — a popular destination for sunbathing, fishing and wandering around listening to the tide and enjoying Old Florida — is closed. Sorry folks, government shutdown.

The partial shutdown only affects a few federal agencies and services, perhaps most acutely in the Volusia-Flagler area the Transportation Security Administration, whose agents at Daytona Beach International Airport are working without pay until the shutdown ends. Same for the folks at the U.S. Coast Guard station in New Smyrna Beach.

[MORE: Federal shutdown leaves 40 TSA staffers working without pay at Daytona airport]

The Housing & Urban Development department’s closure could begin to have effects on local public housing authorities. And it could slow processing of tax returns and refunds.

The IRS office in Daytona Beach — whose duties include providing basic tax law assistance from Jan. 1 through April 18 each year — has an outgoing voice message stating the office is closed due to the shutdown.

Johnny Svajko, one of the partners and a tax manager at Olivari & Associates, P.A., an Ormond Beach accounting firm, said to date, because of the holidays, he’s not seen much of an impact. That will likely change this week as tax season revs into action.

“We’re about to find out real soon,” Svajko said.

Then there’s Canaveral, 24 miles of undeveloped beach along the Atlantic coastline, straddling Volusia and Brevard counties. Its barrier island ecosystem and the Mosquito Lagoon estuary attracted 1.6 million visitors in 2017, boosting businesses such as JB's Fish Camp & Restaurant in New Smyrna Beach.

General Manager Joe Ryan said Canaveral's closing hasn't affected business much yet.

"It will, as the tourists come down more," he said.

On Friday morning, a few folks rode bicycles into the park, but barriers were placed across the road blocking vehicular traffic. A ranger vehicle was spotted at the entrance briefly but left after just a few minutes.

Natural attraction

Phil Nagy of Edgewater pulled up to Canaveral’s south gate Friday in his red Mini Cooper, top down, ready to hit the beach for some sun.

“Oh, well, there’s other beaches,” Nagy said.

He enjoys Canaveral because, “it’s secluded. There’s less kids. … It’s a quiet beach.”

Ted Myers, a visitor from the Detroit area, said he comes to New Smyrna to escape the cold and, specifically, to visit Canaveral nearly every day of his visit. He goes fishing there most days.

“It’s a beautiful park. It’s a tragedy that it’s closed. I wish they would open it. I really do,” he said.

“What’s so nice is it’s a narrow strip of land,” he said. “On one side you have the ocean, on the other side you have the estuary. You have two different types of wildlife, access to two different types of environments (within) what is it, an eighth of a mile wide?”

Word from locals is that on the first day of the shutdown, the park wasn’t quite as shuttered as it was by last week. The public was able to access a boat launch and “tons of people” were parked there without supervision, said Thomas Brewer, who lives about 1½ miles north of the park in New Smyrna Beach.

On the second day of the shutdown, Brewer cycled into the park and a ranger reminded him that trespassing on federal property is a crime, punishable by fine or jail. He didn’t push the issue on Friday, riding just up to the ROAD CLOSED sign.

“To me, it’s like the main attraction here. There’s not much pristine land left here,” he said. “It’s really cool that I can ride in and see a little bobcat. … There’s still some Florida left here.”

When people come to visit, Brewer said he doesn’t take them to Disney World. He points out the oyster reefs and the Turtle Mound at Canaveral.

Shutdown justified?

Unlike Brewer, Chad and Sarah Stevens of Tontitown, Arkansas, brought their two small children to Florida to visit Disney World.

But they are also fans of the National Park System and peeled off from Orlando to visit Canaveral on Friday, uncertain whether they could enter the park because of the shutdown, triggered by President Trump's refusal to sign a funding measure that passed both the House and Senate before Christmas. Trump is using the shutdown as leverage to get an additional $5 billion for the southern border wall he promised in his 2016 campaign.

They turned their car around, disappointed, but Sarah Stevens said she believes the shutdown will be worthwhile if Trump can make headway on the wall.

“This is an inconvenience, but I believe in the shutdown and what he’s doing as a whole,” she said. “I’m disappointed, but it’s no big deal.”

[ALSO: Trump's promise of wall may not be fulfilled as advertised]

Most of the visitors arriving at the New Smyrna Beach entrance on Friday weren’t interested in diving deep into the politics behind the shutdown. But a few couldn’t help themselves.

Mike Danner, a snowbird from Michigan, said he comes to Canaveral regularly.

“Just a very quiet place to walk,” he said. “It’s a place where there’s no building going on, no McDonald’s, no Subways.”

Danner said those who try to beat the immigration system will figure out ways around a border wall.

“Are they going to build a wall around Florida? Prevent boats?”

Danner said Trump changes his mind every day. “The man is out of his league, unfortunately,” he said.

Nagy, the Edgewater resident in the convertible, was hesitant to offer an opinion, but he ultimately provided a big hint.

“I’m so tired of the subject that I don’t care to even get into it,” he said. “I think it’s clear-cut who’s right and who’s wrong and anybody with a lick of sense would understand that.”