Great Smoky Mountains National Park will resume full operations beginning Saturday morning, October 4, despite the federal government shutdown. This effort is made possible through a partnership among local and state governments, as well as the Friends of the Smokies and the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians. In anticipation of the federal government shutdown, Sevier County, the cities of Gatlinburg, Sevierville, Pigeon Forge, and Pittman Center, Blount County, Cocke County, the State of Tennessee, the Tennessee Department of Tourist Development, along with the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, began working together on a plan to provide financial support to keep the Great Smoky Mountains National Park fully operational in the event of a federal government shutdown. Once the shutdown co

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