Why the Government Shutdown Matters

 Carl Hiassen takes a look at the shutdown and how it affects fishing close to home.

So they’ve shut down the national parks. No big deal, right?
The troops in Afghanistan are still getting paid, the air-traffic controllers are still on duty and Mom’s still receiving her Social Security checks.
Evidently the parks are considered a minor, low-profile casualty in the Republicans’ war on Obamacare.
Except to the thousands of workers around the country who depend on a thriving park system for a paycheck — and not just the rangers.
In the Florida Keys last Wednesday, about 150 boats filled with fishing guides and their families gathered at Cowpens Channel to protest the closing of Everglades National Park.
It’s unique among our 401 national parks because so much of it is water — more than 800 square miles accessible by boat, canoe or kayak.
ENP is a live tapestry of mangrove islets, flats and snaking channels stretching from Everglades City on the west coast almost all the way to Long Key, encompassing the Ten Thousand Islands and most of Florida Bay.
Since the days of Zane Grey, the area has been one of the world’s legendary sportfishing destinations. Now the guides who go there every day have been ordered to stay out. They’re losing customers, losing money and losing faith.

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/10/12/3684282/dc-slugfest-takes-a-toll-back.html#storylink=cpy