Several Deaths in National Parks During Government Shutdown

Nevada Falls in Yosemite National Park. Walter Siegmund photo.

In a departure from previous practice, Trump administration officials have decided to leave many pieces of public land open to visitors during the government shutdown. Since Dec. 21st, the day on which many federal employees were furloughed, a total of seven people have died in national parks. 

Related: The Federal Government Shutdown Hasn't Been Great for Public Lands

Parks Service spokesman Jeremy Barnum said in an interview that four of those deaths are believed to be suicides, with the other three being accidental.  The shutdown has delayed full investigations of the deaths, so information about the events is limited.  

Horseshoe Bend Overlook in Glen Canyon Recreation Area. Paxson Woelber photo.

On December 24th, a 14-year-old girl fell 700 feet at the Horseshoe Bend Overlook in the Glen Canyon Recreation Area in Arizona. The following day, a man visiting Yosemite died falling into a river after sustaining a head injury near Nevada Fall. On the 27th, a woman was killed by a falling tree in Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

With no employees to collect entry fees or enforce visitation limits, visitors have been flooding into the parks. In many popular areas high visitation combined with low staffing has led to seriously deteriorating conditions, a prime example being the accumulation of human and material waste reported in Yosemite, Rocky Mountain, Death Valley, and Joshua Tree National Parks.