Structural problems with the Chisos Mountains Lodge at Big Bend National Park have prompted the National Park Service to cancel the solicitation of a new concessions contract for the facility until a more thorough analysis can determine what repairs are needed and how much it might cost. That conclusion could lead to an entirely new lodging facility in the park located in West Texas.

Though the National Park Service makes up only one-tenth of 1 percent of the federal budget, it takes up a much larger share of the public imagination. The parks are also prominent in media coverage on the federal government. That’s especially true during one of our regular government shutdowns, when the media tells stories of closed parks, disappointed visitors, vandals, and piles of trash.

During the ongoing partial government shutdown, Zack Frank, a furloughed National Park Service employee, is striving to create one video per day. The first is of Big Bend National Park. Enjoy!

Sinking morale among the National Park Service ranks and accumulating human waste and garbage are just some of the symptoms of the ongoing government shutdown that has left many national parks open but without adequate staffing. Not so visible are the impacts being suffered in long-term environmental monitoring, work on visitor management plans and environmental impact statements, and even potential setbacks to the hiring of next summer's seasonal rangers.