Near-capacity toilets force Joshua Tree campsite to close following government shutdown



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Unlike some previous government closures, when national parks were completely closed, the doors remained open under the Trump government, leaving an insufficient number of people in the parks.

Joshua Tree town to the north, will remain open during the closure but its popular campgrounds will close at noon Wednesday, according to the National Park Service.

"The park is forced to take this step for health and safety reasons as the safe's toilets reach maximum capacity," said the park's service. "In addition to human waste in public areas, driving off the roads and other offenses that damage the resource is becoming a problem."

In addition, the National Park Service stated that the closure had prevented it from providing personnel to "provide advice, assistance, maintenance or emergency response."

"Any entry on NPS property during this period of federal closure is at the sole risk of the visitor." the park service said this week.

Garbage collection stopped in parallel with the maintenance of roads and alleys.

Rattlesnake Canyon will close its doors to reduce the number of search and rescue events for rangers already scattered due to the park's closure, the Parks Department announced.

Kristen Brengel, Vice President of Government Affairs for the National Parks Conservation Association, said the closure is not only harmful to parks, but also to surrounding communities whose tourism is estimated at $ 18 million a day.

"It's really a big deal for Joshua Tree," she said of the camp closure. "It's a very popular season for people who come here."

Brengel said the shortage of staff had created a sense of "lawlessness" in the parks.

"People bring dogs and drones and there are cases where people do not respect the rules and it's not good for wildlife and the environment," he said. she declared.

David Lamfrom, director of the California Desert and National Wildlife Programs at the National Parks Conservation Association, said volunteers have been mobilized to help with the closure of the site, but can not displace the service. parks.

"People get off the trails and bring their dogs," he said. "People trample and destroy the things they want to keep unknowingly … People camp where they want or come early or late at some water points so that animals like the mouflon do not go down to drink. "

Yosemite National Park in California remains open, but several campgrounds and snow playgrounds are "closed due to human waste and lack of staff," according to its website.

The Visitor Reception Center and the Yosemite Museum are closed and emergency response times could increase upon closing.

Key parties in the federal government were affected by the December 22 shutdown, including homeland security, justice, home affairs and state and housing and urban development departments

Closing began after President Donald Trump refused to yield to his $ 5 billion request for the construction of his long-promised border wall. This figure was a non-strategist for the Democrats, leaving Congress in a stalemate.

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