With the government shutdown now in its second week, visitors to national parks are starting to get more comfortable breaking the rules. They seem to be taking advantage of reduced staff at the parks.
BASE jumping is illegal in Yosemite and other national parks, but that didn’t stop one climber from posting a video to Instagram that shows him BASE jumping from El Capitan, according to a story in SFGate. The video demonstrates that people are feeling bolder with a lack of rangers in the parks.
“More base jumpers!” the climber wrote in the post. “Definitely feeling some freedom to flout the rules due to the shut down. Second group today.”
At Half Dome in Yosemite, according to NPS, permits to are required seven days per week when the cables are up. However, hikers are finding that rangers aren’t posted at the entrance to the trail and are choosing to go up without the permits. The cables are meant to protect wilderness character, reduce crowding, protect natural and cultural resources, and improve safety, according to the Half Dome Stewardship Plan.
While illegal hikes and BASE jumps happened before the shutdown, they have increased with the lack of oversight.
“This is exactly what we warned about," said Emily Thompson, executive director of the Coalition to Protect America’s National Parks, in response to the story. "And this is why national parks need to be closed until the government re-opens. This shutdown is making an already bad situation at national parks and public lands far worse. And the longer this goes, the worse it is going to get. The situation is dangerous and reckless for our parks, public lands, and the visitors who love them.”
With more than 60 percent of national park staff estimated to be furloughed, there is little the remaining staff can do to prevent visitors from engaging in risky and illegal behaviors.
Earlier this week, trespassing at Bandelier National Monument was also reported. Reporters with The Sante Fe New Mexican noticed cars parked along East Jemez Road near the entrance of Tsankawi, a detached portion of Bandelier, and people walking on the trail past a gate intended to close off that part of the park with a sign.
According to NPS, the site includes a 1.5 walk along a mesa, where you can view cavates, petroglyphs, and the Ancestral Pueblo village of Tsankawi.
“Some of those things are incredibly valuable and sacred and can never be replaced,” said Andrew Black, public lands field director for the National Wildlife Federation and founder of Earth Keepers. “You want to make sure they are not damaged right now. That’s a big concern, of course, especially in New Mexico and especially to our pueblos.”
The trail at Tsankawi includes ladders, making it potentially dangerous, especially when there are no rangers monitoring the trail or incoming hikers.
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