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From Camping to BASE Jumping: Visitors’ Activities Create Long-Term Harm to Yosemite’s Resources

Amid the U.S. shutdown, parks open to visitors are prone to reckless exploitation, and monitoring them has become difficult.

BY GREEN MATTERS STAFF

PUBLISHED 17 HOURS AGO

A young man in Yosemite National Park. (Representative Cover Image Source: Getty Images | Swissmediavision)

A recent political debacle in the US has forced the government to shut down some services temporarily, as per BBC News. The employees from the U.S. Forest Service, National Parks, and other government services are currently on unpaid leave. This suspension started on October 1st, and its end seems nowhere near. The National parks and other public places run by the National Park Service, Bureau of Land Management, and Fish and Wildlife Service remain open for visitors. But recent reports suggest that this lineancy could cost heavily to America.

Tourists hugging the giant redwood trees in California's Redwood National Parks (Representative Image Source: Getty Images | Grant Faint)

The lack of staff at these places, especially California’s Yosemite National Park, has prompted bad behavior. From illegal camping to BASE jumping, such illicit activities have raised concern among park advocates and workers. They told States Newsroom that they fear the situation would worsen as the shutdown drags on. This temporary shutdown has made “front-load visitor services” available but hid some of the long-term harms, as per John Garder, the senior director of budget and appropriations at the National Parks Conservation Association.

Visitors stands on a rock ledge of the Taft Point looking over the edge to Yosemite Valley in the Yosemite National Park (Representative Image Source: Getty Images | Apu Gomes)

Out of roughly 14,500 staff, the NPS has laid off more than a whopping 9000 employees. If the workers are reduced at these historically significant sights, who will protect the "irreplaceable resources?” Management workers are now forced to oversee cleanliness at the visitor center and the parking. “What that's done is created this facade for the visitors, so that in many cases they don't see the damage that's happening behind the scenes,” Garder said. The NCPA is advocating for parks to be closed to the public during the shutdown to avoid their long-term effects.

A woman picking fruits in an orchard in Capitol Reef National Park in Southern Utah. (Representative Cover Image Source: Getty Images | Barry Winiker)

Aaron Weiss, the deputy director of the conservation advocacy group Center for Western Priorities, thinks allowing the public to enter government premises despite a lack of staff is an irresponsible approach. “The national parks are effectively museums,” Weiss said. “This would be like the Smithsonian saying, ‘Well, you know, we don't have the staff to keep the Smithsonian museum staffed, but we'll go ahead and leave the gates, the doors open, and come in and take a look, do what you want,’” he added.

Smithsonian Museums in Washington D.C. shut their doors due to government shutdown (Representative Image Source: Getty Images | Steve Heap)

“That would be horrifically irresponsible of the Smithsonian, but that is exactly what the National Park Service is saying,” the deputy director emphasized. Perhaps the nature of these parks is making complete closure difficult. Most parks have low fences that hardly succeed at keeping people out. And those managed by BLM and the Forest Service likely have fewer barricades than usual. Even though the parks would have been accessible to the public one way or another, the Interior Department under President Donald Trump has prioritized keeping the gates open during shutdowns. Perhaps to use the park maintenance funds for other operations.

Lone Star Geyser in Yellowstone National Park with mound of geyserite and steaming fumes erupting out (Representative Image Source: Getty Imags | Jeffrey Ross)

As per the outlet, the Interior Secretary Doug Burgum has tried to downplay the damage and misconduct done by the public. “Of course, all of our many sites…. would be better operated and better staffed if the Senate would just get us back in the government,” he told Fox News, as per the outlet. “Way to go, Senate Democrats,” he added, passing the blame entirely. In this fiasco, more than half of Interior’s staff have been removed, increasing stress and low morale among those remaining. Chris Tollefson, a former communications official at the BLM and the Fish and Wildlife Service, revealed that the employees working in these sectors are passionate about their jobs. “The people I know get into this because they care passionately about the land and about the resources they protect,” he said.

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