National Parks Face Challenges As Government Shutdown Enters Day 12
John Garder, senior budget director at the National Parks Conservation Association, estimates the park system is losing $400,000 a day. "That's money that they really need," he says.
On day 12 of the government shutdown, national parks across the country are seeing the impact.
While parks have stayed open during the shutdown, with some emergency workers and rangers still working, much of the parks’ staff are not there, meaning there is no one to clean bathrooms, empty the trash, enforce rules or collect entrance fees. At Joshua Tree National Park in Southern California, campgrounds were closed Wednesday after some of the vault toilets, which do not flush, reached capacity.
Dozens of volunteers have stepped in to help clean bathrooms and get rid of trash, including John Lauretig, a retired law enforcement ranger at the park and executive director of the nonprofit Friends of Joshua Tree
