What a government shutdown will mean for Californians, from Social Security to national parks - San Jose Spotlight

"Unsupervised, visitors drove through wilderness and historic sites, camped where they weren't supposed to, and vandalized plants and buildings at parks across California. The trash - and the feces - piled up. In the days after the shutdown ended, park staff found at least 1,665 clumps of toilet paper littering Death Valley alone, where an estimated half-ton of human waste had been left outside the restrooms."

""It was insane to leave the gates open and tell the staff not to show up in the park - for our public lands, and all of our special places in this country, to be unprotected," said Lauretig, a retired law enforcement park ranger and president of the Friends of Joshua Tree nonprofit. Now, facing the prospect of another imminent shutdown, conservation groups and retired park service employees including Lauretig are calling to keep the gates locked at national parks and historic landmarks."

"As of now, the parties appear far apart, although President Donald Trump and congressional leaders are expected to meet today. Democratic leaders in Congress are demanding that Republicans reverse Medicaid cuts made in Trump's signature tax and spending bill earlier this year and extend Biden-era subsidies used by a majority of Affordable Care Act enrollees. In response, the Trump administration has floated firing federal workers en masse if the shutdown occurs."

John Lauretig remembers filthy bathrooms, overflowing trash, and community cleanup at Joshua Tree during the December 2018–January 2019 federal shutdown. Thousands of National Park Service employees were furloughed while many parks remained open, leaving visitors unsupervised to drive through wilderness and historic sites, illegally camp, and vandalize plants and buildings. Trash and human waste accumulated; park staff later found at least 1,665 clumps of toilet paper in Death Valley and about half a ton of waste outside restrooms. Conservation groups and retired park employees are urging gates be locked ahead of a threatened shutdown amid political stalemate over Medicaid and ACA subsidies.

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