Our national parks are increasingly stressed because of the government shutdown. With a large portion of National Park Service staff furloughed, there are fewer personnel available to enforce rules or care for the land. Across parks, reports are emerging of trash accumulating, restrooms not serviced, and public facilities operating in reduced mode. Many roads, trails and open-air areas remain accessible, but with limited oversight, visitors are wandering off-trail, creating “social trails” that damage fragile ecosystems and disturb wildlife.
In some parks, there are reports of visitors engaging in high-risk behaviour: climbing without oversight or required permits, using drones in restricted areas, lighting fires or cutting wood in areas normally regulated. Rangers still on duty, deemed “essential”, are stretched thin, covering wide territories with diminished support.
Visitor centres and interpretive services are closed or minimally staffed, research projects are paused, and basic maintenance is scaled back. Safety alerts may not be posted in a timely manner. In short: these irreplaceable places are more vulnerable, not because visitors don’t care, but because the workforce protecting them is reduced.
As a group of former superintendents put it: “Our parks don’t run by themselves.” Without the dedicated staff who keep them clean, safe and functioning, the shutdown has left America’s greatest natural treasures more exposed to damage, danger, and neglect.
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