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UPDATE 3 | Interior Secretary Refuses To Let Grand Canyon National Park Close In Face Of COVID-19

Hours after Coconino County officials in Arizona, frustrated that Grand Canyon National Park is still open despite the worsening coronavirus pandemic, urged Interior Secretary David Bernhardt on Thursday to follow guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and close the park, the National Park Service announced some operational changes at the park.

Coronavirus Leading To Vandalism, Illegal Camping, Short Staffing In National Parks

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.

UPDATE 3 | Around The Parks: Coping With Coronavirus, March 24

Grand Teton and Yellowstone national parks announced Tuesday afternoon that they would be closed to all visitors. The announcement came hours after Great Smoky Mountains National Park officials, unable to discourage visitors from coming into the park, announced that they would close most of the park to the public in a bid to slow the spread of coronavirus. That was followed by news that the southern end of the Blue Ridge Parkway would close, and Mount Rainier National Park officials said they were closing all roads into their park.

UPDATE | Around The Parks: Coping With Coronavirus, March 23

As the coronavirus pandemic slowly but steadily moved across the country, more units of the National Park System altered their operations Monday. Zion National Park moved to close the popular, and often crowded, Angels Landing Trail and the park's campgrounds, while lodging and concessions operations at Glen Canyon National Recreation Area on the other side of Utah shut down.

UPDATE | Coping With Coronavirus At Shenandoah National Park And National Mall And Memorial Parks

On Friday, March 20, a day when normally most people would be at work, Skyline Drive in Shenandoah National Park was teeming with cars. Although a growing list of parks have closed in the face of coronavirus concerns, some national parks, including two popular spots in the mid-Atlantic region—Shenandoah and the National Mall—remain open to park visitors.

UPDATE 5 | Around The Parks: Coping With Coronavirus, March 20

Closings streamed in from across the National Park System on Friday, ranging from campgrounds and river trips to all of Yosemite National Park and Rocky Mountain National Park and most of Everglades and Biscayne national parks being shuttered as efforts ramped up to halt the spread of coronavirus in the park system.

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