Page 34 - Brooks River News Today : Breaking News, Live Updates & Top Stories | Vimarsana

The government might be shutting down, but the bears don't know that. It's time for the beloved National Park Service event that is Fat Bear Week!

Without funding for the National Park Service, the beloved celebration of Alaska's "burly" brown bears may not be able to take place as planned.

A looming government shutdown threatens to claw its way into a crowd-pleasing Alaska tradition: Fat Bear Week. Alaska's most-watched popularity contest, Fat Bear Week involves residents picking their favorite fat brown bear who's been stocking up for winter by noshing on salmon in Katmai National Park & Preserve. Problem is, national park employees count and release those votes — and a shutdown won't allow them to do so because it would trigger a ban on using the park's official social media accounts for as long as the government is closed.

Katmai National Park and Preserve staff say a federal government shutdown would postpone this year's Fat Bear Week, set to start next week.

A government shutdown could postpone fan-favorite Fat Bear Week, set to begin just days after the funding deadline for Congress.