Joint Memo Warns Government Shutdown Will Deepen National Parks, Public Lands Crisis

A joint memo issued by the Coalition to Protect America’s National Parks (Coalition) and Association of National Park Rangers (ANPR) warns a government shutdown will make an already bad situation at national parks and public lands far worse.

The memo proceeds to warn that operating the parks without staff during a shutdown will yield similar dangerous results as in past shutdowns:

… when national parks experienced destruction of iconic resources, widespread accumulation of trash and related habituation of wildlife, human waste on trails due to closed restrooms, vandalism of property, and destruction of habitat from off-road vehicle use.

During the 2018-2019 shutdown, the Trump administration ordered park to remain open – a decision which put people and irreplaceable resources at risk, according to the memo. Without staff, parks were vandalized and emergency services were limited.

As of Tuesday, September 30, the National Park Service has not released an updated plan for park operations in the event of a shutdown, or given any indication as to whether or not it will keep the national parks open. Any shutdown plans that would leave parks open with only the few staff designated as “essential” could exacerbate existing issues from neglected maintenance to limited safety services.

If the administration forces the parks to stay open and unstaffed again, the memo warns visitors should be prepared for:

• Vandalism, such as the “damaged trees, graffiti and ruined trails” seen in Joshua Tree National Park – including some damage to the lands and waters that may take centuries to recover [01/28/2019]

• Parks “blighted by litter and human waste,” closing trails and campgrounds in Yosemite, Big Bend, and Death Valley [01/06/2019]

• Limited emergency services, leaving families to enter “at the visitor’s sole risk” [01/02/2019]

• Illegal offroading damaging sensitive landscapes [01/01/2019]

According to the memo:

A recent New York Times report found that at least 90 parks are already facing serious strain in an effort to comply with the Secretarial Order that parks remain open and accessible to the public despite huge cuts to NPS staff. Nearly one-quarter of NPS staff have departed the agency since President Trump took office in January.

New data released by NPS this week emphasizes the economic impact national parks have in neighboring communities and the high stakes of a shutdown. Last year national parks contributed to 340,100 jobs and $56.3 billion in economic output, a sizable impact that has undoubtedly already taken a hit due to this year’s budget cuts.

A September 26 article by the Coalition reported 40 former National Park Superintendents urged Secretary Burgum to close national parks if there is a government shutdown, writing that due to recent staffing and budget cuts “the damage could in fact be much worse” than the destruction seen during previous shutdowns.

Emily Thompson, Executive Director of the Coalition stated “Leaving national parks open without National Park staff to help protect visitors and resources is not only irresponsible – it’s dangerous. We don’t leave museums open without curators, or airports without air traffic controllers and we should not leave our National Parks open without NPS employees. The parks can’t run themselves and if the government shuts down, so should the national parks.”

“If parks are required to stay open with only a skeleton staff during a shutdown, it will be one more episode, among the many that have already occurred, that is leading to the demolition of this country’s National Park Service and to the illegal impairment of the treasured resources of the world’s premier national park system,” warned Bill Wade, Executive Director of the ANPR.