The National Parks Conservation Association is calling for the Trump administration to close all national parks in the event of a government shutdown.

The nonpartisan, nonprofit organization that calls itself “the voice of America’s national parks” says several park properties were damaged and vandalized in the December 2018 to January 2019 government shutdown when roads, lookouts, trails, and open-air memorials remained open to visitors.

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“If the federal government shuts down, unfortunately our parks should too,” NPCA President and CEO Theresa Pierno said in a statement. “We know what happened last time park staff were forced to leave parks open and unprotected, and the impacts were disastrous.”

The National Park Service told the Washington Examiner that its most recent March 2024 lapse in funding plans were being reviewed and updated and would be posted on the Interior Department’s website when finished.

The most recent March 2024 shutdown guidelines align with those during the December 2018 to January 2019 shutdown for keeping accessible park areas open, with the number of staff on site varying by park.

“At parks with areas that are physically accessible to the public, meaning that due to their physical
characteristics it is impossible or impractical to restrict public access, exempted staffing levels will vary
by park,” the March 2024 guidelines read. “Generally, where parks have accessible park areas, including park roads, lookouts, trails, campgrounds, and open-air memorials, these areas will remain physically accessible to the public.”

The last federal government shutdown lasted 35 days during President Donald Trump’s first term. The administration advised national parks in 2019 to hold staffing levels to “the amount needed for the protection of life, property, and public health and safety.” Parks remained open to visitors during the shutdown, but all visitor services were closed.

“Prehistoric petroglyphs were vandalized, battlefield artifacts were stolen, Joshua trees were cut down and illegal off-roading vehicles drove through fragile archaeological sites. The damage was devastating and, in some cases, permanent,” Pierno said of the damage during the 2019 government shutdown.

The NPCA also said during the last government shutdown that there were human waste and trash problems at Sequoia and Kings Canyon national parks and sanitation problems at Death Valley National Park.

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Since January, the National Park Service has lost 24% of its permanent staff amid federal workforce cuts led by the Department of Government Efficiency, the NPCA said.

Congress has until midnight on Oct. 1 to pass a spending bill or continuing resolution before government funding expires to avoid a shutdown.