Overview
- The National Park Service furloughed more than 9,200 employees under its contingency plan, keeping only life- and property-protection roles on duty while many visitor services and fee collection are paused.
- New videos and eyewitness accounts from Yosemite show illegal BASE jumping and reports of campground squatting, though Interior officials say law enforcement is responding and reject claims of widespread squatting.
- Visitor numbers remain strong with unstaffed gates and no entrance fees collected, and many Yosemite guests report a mostly normal experience supported by concessionaire operations and Yosemite Conservancy programs.
- Local groups are funding stopgaps: Friends of the Smokies say they fully covered Great Smoky Mountains’ 275-person staff through Oct. 19, Yellowstone Forever is keeping Yellowstone visitor centers open, and other nonprofits are assisting select sites.
- Advocates cite risks to resources and halted science and management work, while federal data show the Bureau of Land Management has continued issuing roughly 20 oil and gas permits per day since Oct. 1.