You are here

Home » National Parks Traveler

UPDATED | Joshua Tree National Park To Close For Cleanup, Repairs To Vandalism, Illegal Roads

Illegal roads, cut down Joshua trees, and damaged federal property, along with the need to clean up garbage, prompted Joshua Tree National Park Superintendent David Smith to announce Tuesday that the park would close indefinitely on Thursday to address those impacts incurred during the ongoing partial government shutdown.

Government Shutdown Snaps One Of The Longest Monitoring Studies In The National Parks

Shenandoah National Park, which protects more than 200,000 acres in the mountains of Virginia, is famous for its recreation opportunities, scenic vistas, and wildlife viewing. The park is also home to one of the longest continuous monitoring studies in the National Park System, a research initiative interrupted by the government shutdown. No sampling has been undertaken in more than three weeks - the longest data gap in the entire project.

Traveler's View: Interior Department Makes Rules Up On The Fly

With the Interior Department led by a recent oil industry lobbyist and the National Park Service by a past political appointee who overlooked environmental rules to please a billionaire, we're embarking on a new paradigm for managing the National Park System, one that includes changing the rules on the fly.

UPDATED | Interior Department Tests Legal Boundaries In Redirecting Fee Monies To National Park Garbage Collection

Determined to keep national parks open regardless of the impacts, top Interior Department officials moved in a legally questionable direction to redirect fees generally dedicated for specific uses in parks for use in cleaning restrooms and removing trash and human waste at parks unable to deal with those issues during the ongoing partial government shutdown.

UPDATED | National Parks Told To Dip Into Fee Revenues For Maintenance And Sanitation

Growing problems involving human waste and litter have prompted Interior Department officials to clear the way for national parks to tap fee revenues typically reserved for future projects to pay for basic maintenance and custodial needs during the ongoing partial government shutdown. The move was immediately criticized by the National Parks Conservation Association, which voiced concerns over the use of fee revenues as well as inequities involving parks that don't collect fees.

New Executive Order Could Open Forests In National Parks To Logging

An executive order expected to be posted Monday in the Federal Register is somewhat open-ended in directing the Interior and Agriculture departments to actively manage forests to reduce the risk of wildfires. Conservationists are concerned how the order could either directly or indirectly affect lands within the National Park System.