These campers enjoyed the new year camping illegal in Death Valley National Park. Since then the park continues to encounter problems with off-road travel and illegal camping/Basin and Range Watch
Death Valley National Park continues to struggle with poor behavior by some visitors during the ongoing partial government shutdown, with off-road enthusiasts going where they shouldn't, and campers camping where they shouldn't.
"The park has had issues with illegal off-roading and out of bounds camping," Andrew S. Muñoz, the Park Service's acting chief of public and congressional affairs told the Traveler in an email Wednesday. "We don't have any photos for release at the moment. We have documented several instances of new off-road tracks, including evidence of vehicles doing 'donuts' in the desert."
Death Valley, which sprawls across nearly 5,300 square miles in California and Nevada, was one of the first parks to encounter problems once the Trump administration decided to keep the National Park System open with skeleton crews of rangers.
A photo of campers (above) distributed January 1 by Basin and Range Watch, a nonprofit working to conserve the deserts of Nevada and California, purported to show three campers off the Keane Wonder Mine Road east of Stovepipe Wells in Death Valley. They had their easy chairs set up, tent in place, and were unloading their SUV.
Muñoz didn't have many details of the latest vandalism because of the limited staff resources at Death Valley.
"We are seeing more incidents near developed areas, for example behind the visitor center, which is unusual," he said. "I'm not able to gather further details because the park is focusing limited staff resources on reopening areas using recreation fees."
Comments
I hope they at least shut down the road to The Racetrack. It's gotten bac enough when fully staffed, I can't imagine what they are doing out there now.
Seriously...Watch that they don't start mining borax again
Hopefully The Racetrack is to wet for anybody to get to.
But if it is wet and an idiot can get to it, the damage will be much greater than when it's dry.
That would be legal though. There are still about 30 mining claims in Death Valley. Some of the existing mines could legally be reopened or even new mining could start if there's a valid claim.
Curious if the person who took this photo talked to these camper and informed them on the situation? They are being shamed on several sites and i am curious if they even know their picture is out there on social media and here. Do you know for sure that the info is correct for this picture? Its interesting that their backs are to the camera when usually when someone drives by you look and see what's up... seems set up to me and others. I am 100% for protecting our enviromnet from illegal action I just want to know that all the info is correct. These people maybe clueless and we could bring awarness to the situation instead of shaming. Just let them know that they are being watched is good enough if they know they are breaking the law. (Just saying) - keeping the peace
A shot of their license plate would be a welcome addition.
To Cat - excellent point. Thank you for that dose of common courtesy. It is far too easy to write ugly comments with few facts especially when you can remain anonymous. Recent events in DC prove that all too loudly.