From Grand Canyon to Capitol Hill: Analyzing the Closures and Vandalism Risks at National Parks During Funding Lapses

When a US government shutdown occurs due to a lapse in appropriations, America’s National Parks are thrust into a precarious position. The central challenge is the determination of whether to close the parks entirely or leave them partially accessible without adequate staff. The National Park Service (NPS) relies on annual funding for its day to day operations, and without it, most personnel are furloughed. This includes crucial staff such as park rangers, maintenance crews, and law enforcement officers. The ensuing lack of oversight, particularly when sites remain open, creates significant risks for both the natural environment and public safety, transforming national treasures into vulnerable, unmanaged spaces.

The majority of National Park Service employees are deemed non essential during a funding lapse, resulting in a severe reduction in on site staff. This immediately halts services like the cleaning of restrooms, trash collection, and essential road and trail maintenance. When parks are left open, as occurred in the 2018–2019 shutdown, visitors, finding facilities locked or overflowing, often resort to inappropriate or illegal behavior. Past shutdowns have led to documented cases of vandalism, including damage to unique geological formations, the cutting down of protected trees for firewood, and widespread littering. At sites like Joshua Tree National Park, the damage was extensive, requiring millions of dollars and significant recovery efforts after the government reopened.

The lack of park law enforcement and public safety staff during a shutdown raises serious concerns for visitors. While emergency services may still be available through local or state agreements, the ability of the park to respond to routine accidents, medical emergencies, or rule violations is drastically impaired. Unsupervised access can lead to visitors engaging in high risk activities in unpatrolled areas, increasing the potential for accidents. Furthermore, the shutdown represents a significant financial blow to the National Park Service and the adjacent local economies. Revenue generated from entrance fees, campground reservations, and concessions is lost, impacting the agency’s budget and crippling small, tourism dependent businesses in surrounding gateway communities.

The decision to keep parks open without staff is a highly debated policy choice. Advocates for keeping them accessible argue that public lands should remain open to the public whenever possible. However, conservation groups and retired park professionals strongly oppose this, arguing that the long term environmental cost of unsupervised use outweighs the short term benefit of accessibility. The current policy, which often prioritizes keeping some roads and trails open, has proven difficult to manage and fund, with the NPS sometimes illegally using fee revenues to cover essential cleanup costs during past closures. A prolonged shutdown further compounds these issues, potentially requiring months or years to fully remediate the ecological and infrastructural damage inflicted during the lapse in funding.