The U.S. government shutdown has national parks across the country reeling. Visitors are anxiously checking for updates on the open status of national parks and moving around reservations that were made months in advance.

Amongst the canceled reservations and ruined vacations, many are wondering if the national parks themselves will survive the shutdown. The U.S. government shutdown of 2018-2019, which lasted 34 days, led to irreversible damage to some of the most delicate landscapes in the national park system. As with the current shutdown, national parks were directed to stay open as much as possible, with only a fraction of the staff on hand to monitor behavior.

As a result, Joshua Tree National Park saw favorite rock formations vandalized, public facilities destroyed, and multiple

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