Yosemite Transformed into Trash-Filled Wild West Amid Government Shutdown

As the government shutdown approaches the two-week mark, National Parks, which rely on many employees that are currently furloughed, are seeing the negatives effects. Reports of overflowing trash bins and overused bathrooms are prevalent in all National Parks across the country, but the stories coming out of Yosemite National Park are some of the worst.

The 750,000 acre park is absolutely gorgeous during the winter months, and the number of visitors have been high as no entrance fees mean adventurers can roam the park freely. The staff at the park is very limited, about 50 people, and it shows. The park currently resembles the Wild West as people come and go as they please. And that’s not a good thing.

Reports of overflowing trash cans led the park to close down some of its most high traffic areas like the Wawona Campground, Hodgdon Meadow Campground, and the Mariposa Grove of Giant Sequoias. As the number of restrooms in the park are limited, reports of human feces on the side of trails are prevalent, possibly causing long term issues to the area.

“With restrooms closed, some visitors are opting to deposit their waste in natural areas adjacent to high-traffic areas, which creates a health hazard for other visitors,” National Parks Service spokesman Andrew Munoz said in an statement. 

And to add to the madness, a visitor died after falling into the water near Vernal Falls on Christmas. His body was removed from the area by emergency services but an investigation into the death was delayed with no employees to follow up with the incident.

Volunteers have taken to the wilderness to clean up the trash and stock the bathrooms with necessities like toilet paper, but it’s not nearly enough for the park that is one of the most popular outdoor destinations in the country.

A winter storm is expected to blanket the park in the upcoming weekend, leaving officials worried that trash and human feces will be covered in feet of snow. There’s no telling how long the shutdown will last, but for the sake of our beloved parks, let’s hope it’s over soon.

Active NorCal

Telling the Stories of Northern California

14 Comments

  1. Can I show my graceful appreciation and show you exactly how to do really good stuff and if you
    want to have a checkout Let me tell you a brief about how to become a millionaire I am always here for yall you know that right?

  2. Everything is very open with a very clear explanation of the challenges.
    It was truly informative. Your website is
    very helpful. Thank you for sharing!

  3. you’re in point of fact a excellent webmaster.

    The site loading velocity is amazing. It seems that you are doing any
    distinctive trick. Furthermore, The contents are masterpiece.
    you have performed a great process on this topic!

  4. This is very interesting, You’re a very skilled blogger. I have joined your feed and look ahead to searching for more of
    your magnificent post. Also, I have shared your site in my social networks

  5. Greate post. Keep writing such kind of info on your site.
    Im really impressed by it.
    Hello there, You’ve performed an incredible job. I’ll certainly digg it and individually suggest to my
    friends. I am confident they will be benefited from this web site.

  6. I do believe all the ideas you’ve presented in your post.
    They are very convincing and can definitely work. Nonetheless, the posts are very quick for
    novices. May you please extend them a little from subsequent
    time? Thanks for the post.

  7. Its like you read my mind! You appear to know so much about this, like you wrote the book in it or something.
    I think that you could do with some pics to drive the
    message home a bit, but other than that, this is wonderful blog.

    An excellent read. I’ll definitely be back.

  8. Hello every one, here every person is sharing these kinds of experience,
    therefore it’s good to read this web site, and I used to pay a quick visit this blog daily.

  9. I blog quite often and I truly appreciate your content.
    The article has really peaked my interest. I’m going to bookmark your website and keep checking for new
    details about once a week. I subscribed to your Feed too.

  10. Thanks , I have recently been searching for information about this subject for
    a while and yours is the greatest I’ve came upon till now.
    But, what concerning the bottom line? Are you positive in regards to the source?

  11. Just wish to say your article is as astounding.

    The clearness in your post is just great and i can assume
    you’re an expert on this subject. Well with your permission allow me to grab your feed to keep updated with forthcoming post.
    Thanks a million and please carry on the rewarding
    work.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Back to top button