"Jonathan Jarvis claimed the agency is now in the hands of a bunch of ideologues who would have no issue watching it go down in flames and see parks from Yellowstone to Yosemite as potential cash cows, ripe for privatization. Jarvis, who led the NPS from 2009 to 2017, faced intense scrutiny, a five-hour grilling in Congress and calls for his resignation after closing all 401 national park sites during a previous shutdown, in October 2013."
"Over the past month, hundreds of NPS veterans including Jarvis, 72, have watched aghast as most of the agency's workers were furloughed during the longest shutdown in US history while the Trump administration kept all national parks open. There have been consequences. A fire at Joshua Tree national park burnt through some 72 acres. Yosemite faced a wave of illegal Base jumping. Yellowstone grappled with bear jams. Vandalism included graffiti in Arches national park. A stone wall at Gettysburg national military park was damaged."
The National Park Service experienced widespread furloughs during the longest federal government shutdown, while the administration kept national parks open. Reduced staffing removed critical visitor guidance, rescue capacity, traffic control, wildlife monitoring, and landscape protection. Consequences included a 72-acre fire at Joshua Tree, illegal base jumping in Yosemite, bear jams in Yellowstone, graffiti and vandalism in Arches and Gettysburg, and accumulating trash. Agency veterans watched the impacts with alarm and raised concerns that ideologically driven officials view parks as potential cash cows for privatization. Maintaining parks open with skeleton crews increased risks to visitors and to park resources.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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