Areas created and managed as National Park System sites are the nation’s living treasures, so why are Congress and the Executive Branch treating them like old used cars? A few dings, a little rust, some knocks, oil leaks, no problem.

On average in January, nearly half a million people visit our national parks every day. This year, as a result of the federal government shutdown, now the longest in our nation’s history, park-goers have been greeted not just by nature’s majesty, but by mounting piles of garbage and human excrement—fruited plains indeed. During previous government shutdowns, national parks have been closed to visitors, reducing the risk of temporary and permanent damage incurred without full staffing and services. This time, however, the parks remained open—and American citizens and policymakers alike must now take swift and decisive action to combat the potentially disastrous results.

Almost from the day he took office, President Donald Trump’s environmental agenda has put the profits of big corporations ahead of the public interest. While Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke pays lip service to balanced uses of public resources, Trump and his administration have overwhelmingly sided with polluting industries who prefer unchecked resource extraction with minimal public oversight.

Fifty years ago, on October 2, 1968, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed North Cascades National Park into law. In certain ways, today looks a lot like 1968. American society is struggling with cultural, racial, gender, and class divides. An unpopular president sits in the White House. And public support for the environment is strong.