UNDERSTAFFED: Due to the government shutdown, many national parks are being vandalised and trashed, including Joshua Tree.
By Sarah Salmeron, Staff Writer
Joshua Tree, a California native national park, was vandalized during government shutdown due to lack of park security. Along with causing families to struggle financially due to lack of pay, the government shutdown has caused parks such as Joshua Tree to struggle with lack of security and destruction of what once were protected and safely secured trees.
The government shutdown began on December 22, 2018, lasting well over a month at the time of this article and surpassing the 21 day shutdown in 1995-1996. President Donald Trump instated this shutdown due to a force budget of $5 billion to fund a wall built along the U.S.- Mexico border. The Senate passed a spending bill not including the money for the wall on the evening of December 19, 2018, and the next day Trump announced that he would not sign a spending bill if it did not include payment for the wall, forcing the government into a shutdown. The shutdown stripped paychecks from 800,000 federal workers, causing national parks to be deprived of care and security due to the absence of workers and now volunteers.
Joshua Tree National Park is one of many parks affected by the government shutdown. Many people took it upon themselves to go and clean up the parks, and keep up the image of the understaffed park. Despite volunteering and cleaning, some have decided to make illegal campsites in the park, cutting down the namesake trees in order to clear new paths for themselves. Overlooking the partial government shutdown, park officials attempt to keep the park accessible, but on Tuesday, January 18, 2019, they announced the park as closed for the time being until the park is clean and safe for all tourists.
Joshua Tree isn’t the only national park under threat and closed off to visitors due to shortage of volunteers and staff. Although larger national parks, such as Yellowstone in Wyoming, and the Everglades in Florida, are still open for tourists to visit, they still suffer with problems due to lack of staffing. Amenities such as restrooms are being locked causing human waste to pile up in parks like Yosemite. California parks are lacking maintenance and security, losing tourists and annual visitors. However, multiple companies acquired donations and volunteer groups to help care for these parks to the best of their abilities. The government shutdown not only affected families and certain individuals, but now well known parks are being caught in the political crossfire.