The feasibility of national parks remaining open was also among the concerns should a shutdown occur.

In addition to those in the armed forces and the National Guard, more than 2 million civilians are employed by the federal government, President Barack Obama said in a speech Monday. Many of these civilian employees would be put on furlough with a shutdown. However, the armed forces will escape furlough because of legislation passed though the Senate.

Despite the legislation, the state of the National Guard in Colorado is apparently uncertain. Opinions are mixed on whether the Utah National Guard will remain in Colorado in the event of a shutdown.

The Utah National Guard, which has divided its plan to aid in flood recovery in Colorado into two phases, will continue its mission despite the shutdown, said Utah National Guard Public Affairs Officer Lt. Col. Hank McIntire.

More than 100 soldiers of the Utah National Guard planned to return to Colorado in the new fiscal year, according to a news release.

However, Sen. Mark Udall’s communication director said that the National Guard will lose funding with the shutdown.

“There is no money funding for them to complete their mission,” said Mike Saccone, spokesman for Udall, D-Colo.

The Colorado National Guard would not comment on its status, citing the uncertainty.

Gov. John Hickenlooper said Monday the more than 100 National Guard engineers are doing “indispensable” work.

“If these knuckleheads in Washington can’t get together, then we’ll pay them out of our emergency management funds. We cannot let them stop the work they’re doing,” Hickenlooper said.

While Democrats such as Udall and Sen. Michael Bennet of Colorado continued to vote against a shutdown, Rep. Scott Tipton, R-Cortez, joined many of his GOP cohorts in a bid to halt funding for the Affordable Care Act, known as Obamacare.

Tipton, in a news release, said: “Over the past month in town hall meetings and through thousands of phone calls, emails and letters, I have received a strong message from my constituents – keep government open and stop the Obamacare train-wreck in the most effective way possible.”

National parks and forest service workers will be shut down as well, Obama said in his speech.

The process for an orderly close-down procedure for the U.S. Forest Service is estimated to take seven days, according to a Department of Agriculture procedure manual.

National forest employees will be notified of their employment status and close-down procedure on the first day of furloughs, according to the manual.

Despite many closures and government furloughs, the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe does not anticipate much impact in the next 30 days, said Gary Hayes, chairman of the Ute Mountain Utes.

“We hope (the shutdown) ends soon, but we are prepared to sustain our programs for the next 30 days. … We will re-evaluate then,” Hayes said.

The Bureau of Indian Affairs runs the Ute Mountain Ute tribe’s law enforcement. The tribe also relies on the federal government in running its medical system.

Suzanne Gaber is a student at American University in Washington, D.C., and an intern for The Durango Herald. She can be reached at [email protected].