Zion National Park seemed to be teetering on full closure due to problems tied to the coronavirus pandemic/Rebecca Latson file
Vandalism, illegal camping, overcrowding, and short-staffing issues are cropping up and overtaxing some units of the National Park System due to the coronavirus pandemic. The issues are reminiscent of those that arose during the partial government shutdown of 2018-2019.
While staffing problems during the government shutdown were due to furloughs, this time concerns over getting sick from park visitors and, in some cases, the need to stay home with children whose schools have closed, are leading to work force issues at some park units.
Complicating those problems is that Interior Department officials are not inclined to close parks unless local health or government officials request it.
"The only way that national parks right now are being allowed to close is if we have the public health officials supporting us," a National Park Service staffer told the Traveler on Tuesday. "Yosemite, Sequoia, and Rocky Mountain have all closed. Yosemite and Sequoia because of the California shelter-in-place (order), and their extenuating circumstances," while Rocky Mountain closed after the Estes Park, Colorado, mayor wrote Interior Secretary David Bernhardt to say crowds flocking to the park represented a health risk for his community.
"We have an older, high-risk population with many retirees, and limited critical resources," Mayor Todd A. Jirsa said in his letter last Friday. "Some of our businesses are closing and others are on restrictions to comply with public health orders. Medical and emergency services, as well as basic supplies like groceries, must be available to meet the needs of our community at this time.
"Estes Park is not in a position to support the potential needs of extra guests at this time."
Grand Teton and Yellowstone national parks closed Tuesday afternoon, less than a day after Yellowstone Superintendent Cam Sholly said he had fielded many requests to close his park "from state and local partners, including the governors of Montana and Wyoming, health officials from all surrounding counties."
At least 29 units of the 419-unit park system had closed by Tuesday, though some parks, such as Zion in southwestern Utah, Grand Canyon in Arizona, and Shenandoah in Virginia, were trying to stay open while managing their crowds. But staffing problems in some parks were complicating efforts to manage crowds, the Traveler was told, whether due to existing sickness, or the fear of catching COVID-19.
“I did hear (from a superintendent) that they have one full division that does not want to work," a superintendent said. "I think some of that is based on reality, some of it is based on fear."
Some parks are dealing with great pressures related to the pandemic and its growing impacts. March through April is peak season in Southwestern parks, and a popular destination for spring break. Plus, with most, if not all, ski resorts in the Rockies shutting down, those travelers are looking for other places to explore and often the parks come to mind.
"Our colleagues that are getting absolutely nailed right now are Grand Canyon, Zion, Arches, and they are trying to have their public health officials" request that the parks be closed, a Park Service staffer told Traveler. "They are not having any luck."
While Utah's Southeast Health Department a week ago issued an order to discourage visitors from heading to the state's southeast corner where Arches and Canyonlands national parks are located, a similar order has not been issued by the state's Southwest Health Department. A call to that office on Tuesday was not immediately returned.
Rick Wixom, town manager for Springdale, Utah, declined to discuss the health ramifications for his gateway town of crowding at Zion.
Zion seemed to be teetering on full closure. The park planned to close the Watchman and South Campgrounds, which combined hold more than 300 sites, on Wednesday, and it has closed the popular Angels Landing Trail due to crowding. Illegal camping reportedly was a problem of some size, as was some vandalism. A call to the park's public information officer was not immediate returned Tuesday afternoon.
"It's mind-blowing when you see the crowding that's happening" at Zion, said the Park Service staffer, who agreed to discuss the situation while remaining anonymous out of concerns of retribution. "They're dealing with vandalism, they're dealing with out-of-bounds camping. Grand Canyon is having significant issues. What's also happening is all of our staffing is starting to dwindle as you would expect. Either people have compromised systems, or they're over 60. For us, a lot of our help right now is with our volunteer pool. Many are over 60."
Grand Canyon was said to be having trouble with waste-water treatment systems due to staffing issues and with staying on top of pumping out vault toilets.
"Here's the other kicker at Grand Canyon: People are stealing toilet paper, and ripping (hand) sanitizer off the wall," the Traveler was told. "So what's happening in all these other places is people are going into the vault toilets. And if you don't have the vault toilets open, then people are taking a poop right next to the toilet."
Grand Canyon staff could not be reached Tuesday afternoon, nor could staff in Washington, D.C., to discuss the growing problems.
Vanessa Lacayo, a public affairs specialist in the Park Service's Intermountain Region office in Denver, would not say whether illegal camping and vandalism was a problem at Zion, though she said she had "heard similar stories at other parks, including places like Petroglyph" National Monument in New Mexico.
Through it all, park superintendents have been given leeway to support their employees as best they can.
“Basically, what we’re being told is that anybody who does not feel comfortable in their normal job, because of the threat of disease, will be allowed to either telework, if their job allows it, or we will do our best to find them an alternative role they can play," a superintendent said. "Or they are more than welcome to take either sick or annual leave, no questions asked. If you have a child care issue because of schools or spouses or whatever, you are welcome to be on leave, no questions asked.”
But those losses are being exacerbated by the loss of park volunteers, many who are in the risk categories for contracting COVID-19 and so are staying away from crowds in the parks. How extensive that is across the park system wasn't easily determined, though "I think every park is facing it to some degree,” the superintendent said.
Comments
My sister and I began discussing this very thing: vandalism and illegal camping and all the other stupid crap idiots do when they think nobody is looking. This whole thing pisses me off and gives me an overall sense of sadness and powerlessness.
Yeah that "Fear" is that you have to step into a concrete vault toliet after 1000 + people have used it in the last 24 hours and breath the air and clean all the surfaces covered in body fluids - kinda seems like the PPE that we are using for this highly dangerous job should be donated to hospitals that need to save the lives of virus patients. Just a thought
Not surprised at all, sadly. People are children and cannot be trusted to be responsible and respect our parks with little oversight. THEY ALL NEED TO CLOSE. NOW.
People want to know why NPS is shutting down outdoor sites-There has been a plague of theft from outdoor restrooms and vault toilets. Multiple parks are reporting toilet paper theft and people ripping hand sanitizer containers off of the walls. This has directly led to the closure of facilities which parks have attempted to keep open.
Vandelism is never OK and anyone ripping off a hand sanitizers off walls is an individual who has no respect for anyone or anything including themselves. The question is did this happen because of the outbreak and little to no supervision.
In response to damage at campground. As a fulltime camper I can state that toilets are rarely supervised by campground staff. We the campers are the eyes and ears hence we would report if we saw anyone damaging property to the proper authorities but at the campground entry is a sign "Sorry campground closed". Stop this stupidity and knee-jerk reaction at lets rationalize.
This email was received a few minutes ago by those who are members of the Coalition to Protect Our National Parks:
Dear Coalition Members,
We know your inbox has been flooded with emails related to the coronavirus. It may seem like every business or organization you have interacted with has reached out with information on how they're handling the pandemic. And while this may feel like just another coronavirus email, we want to provide you with an update on our actions.
The Coalition believes that we need to ensure the health and safety of all Americans. This belief has informed every action we've taken and statement we've issued in the past few weeks. We will always be ardent defenders of our natural and cultural resources, but there is nothing more important than making sure our federal employees and visitors are healthy and safe.
Our national park system is being mismanaged. We are in the middle of a crisis and there is a clear void of leadership. We are trying to fill that void by demanding that NPS employees be allowed to adhere to the best practices issued by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). We demanded that the NPS close all facilities that require employees and/or members of the public to be in close proximity and in confined spaces. We pushed for NPS employees who are deemed non-essential to practice social distancing and stay home wherever possible.
We know this is being done in some parks. But while gathering at restaurants, theaters, libraries, and other public spaces is no longer considered safe, the Secretary of the Interior has waived entrance fees at national parks and encouraged visitation. Now, there is inevitable overcrowding occurring at park units throughout the system as people pour into our national parks. It is not safe for people and it will ultimately put our resources at risk.
Calling for a nationwide closure of national park sites is unusual. We also recognize the tremendous disruption such an action will cause to NPS partners, concessioners, and the public. But these are unprecedented times that call for unprecedented measures.
Decisions made about the health and safety of our federal workforce should not be political. They should be made in the best interest of the health and well-being of our nation, particularly the most vulnerable. We must take care of our federal employees and their families.
You can find our recent statements on our website, or in these pieces from ABC News, USA Today, and the Washington Post Please reach out with any questions or let us know if we can help in any way.
We promise to continue to advocate for the health and safety of our NPS employees and visitors. We will continue to work hard to protect our parks.
Sincerely,
Phil Francis
Chair, Executive Council
Town manager of Springdale make your comment. So what if the truism does not survive in Springdale this year it will save lives what is more important.all of you need to realize the disgusting things are going on the national parks using the bathroom everywhere stealing toilet paper and ripping the hand sanitizers off the walls come on let's get these rude people out of here it's not worth it having them here it's too bad a few gross people can ruin it for everyone this carelessness is involving innocent lives who is going to clean this up the national Park service that has families and take it home to them and start the spread of this horrible disease all over again please do something now shut Zion national Park down and quit worrying about making money for the town of Springdale
I think that the people closest to the national parks should have access as it might be their best bet for distancing themselves. Let them camp off site, at least 100' ft from another camp, without a fire, it's better than crowded campgrounds, hand out biodegradable tp,sanitizer and bright orange trash bags, leave no trace pamphlets, keep the rangers working that's their duty and the bathroom staff too. Now more than ever people need to escape to the wild....you should let them and after the danger is gone, realize that you might have to clean up a little after the citizens (that own the park collectively and pay your salary with their taxes).....but you may have saved lives. Most of the so called vandalism is overblown and exaggerated anyway.