How has Joshua Tree National Park held up during the government shutdown?
Athena Jreij
JOSHUA TREE, Calif. (KESQ) — Since the beginning of the government shutdown, News Channel 3 has followed the impact on Joshua Tree National Park, as it remained open and free for entry with limited rangers.
Now, as the longest shutdown in U.S. history comes to an end, many visitors say they haven’t noticed a difference thanks to the park’s continued staffing on a limited basis.
The National Park Service told News Channel 3 the park has remained open, clean and safe thanks to their contingency plan, that allowed limited staff to work on essential services during the shutdown. That includes cleaning restrooms, emptying trash bins and keeping visitor centers open.
“I was a little nervous. Like, who would be available and if we could get the information we needed to be safe and do great hikes. It was great to see the rangers back and it’s been great so far,” Lisa Skiba, a visitor from Chicago said.
Many locals echoed concerns that the shutdown would bring back the same destruction seen in 2018-2019 during the 35 day shutdown.
“It was apocalyptic. There was trash everywhere. The bathrooms were disgusting. We organized over 1,000 volunteers. People really stepped up to the plate, helped, and we were planning to do that again. And then, frankly, it just wasn’t needed,” Seth Zaharias, co-founder of Cliffhanger Guides and Joshua Tree resident said.
Zaharias said himself and many others were bracing for the worst but have been pleasantly surprised.
“I think this is my fifth or sixth shutdown that I’ve lived through here while working in the tourism economy here and this wasn’t like any other shutdown I’ve ever seen,” he said.
However, one thing that hasn’t gone back to normal is business. Zaharias says they’ve seen a 30-40% decrease since the shutdown, for what he believes is confusion around the park being open.
“It’s been a pretty rough 40 days. I think about half the country either thinks that national parks are closed or it was inappropriate to visit them, and our numbers are down pretty significantly. Anybody that lives and works in this community is feeling it right now,” he said.
Now as they get ready to welcome thousands of visitors back everyday, he hopes support for the local economy will come back too.