Overflowing toilets at Joshua Tree National Park suspend all camping starting Wednesday

Human waste overflowing from pit toilets, dogs roaming off-leash and off-roaders tearing up protected habitat describe conditions at Joshua Tree National Park during the ongoing government shutdown, forcing authorities to close all campgrounds starting at noon Wednesday, the National Park Service announced on Monday.

“The park is being forced to take this action for health and safety concerns as vault toilets reach capacity. In addition, human waste in public areas, driving off road and other infractions that damage the resources are becoming a problem,” the NPS said on Monday in a brief statement.

Unlike the government shutdown of 2013, the park remained open with a skeleton crew since Dec. 22. However, up to 200,000 park visitors have overwhelmed the rural park to the breaking point.

Joshua Tree National Park straddles the Mojave and Colorado deserts, about 130 miles from downtown Los Angeles in Twentynine Palms. Only two day-use areas will be open, Indian Cove and Black Rock, with both closing at sunset.

Lost Horse Mine Road and Rattlesnake Canyon will be closed “due to illegal activity,” the NPS said.

The NPS also said closures will reduce the number of hiker rescues, incidents a reduced staff cannot handle in a timely manner.

Squatters, strandings

Most national parks remain open although lawlessness prevails, said Matt Abele, west coast communications manager for the National Parks Conservation Association, a nonprofit group that provides funding and resources.

At Joshua Tree, reservations are not being honored. Many who come from far away find others squatting in their campsites. Some are camping in illegal spots, along the roads, in protected areas, said Abele, according to accounts of visitors, volunteers and nearby residents.

At Grand Canyon National Park in Arizona, a snowstorm stranded visitors, he said.

“This morning one of our colleagues were was stuck in the park. They (park staff) are not able to plow the roads because of the shutdown,” Abele said.

Chantry Flat, a very popular day-use, hiking and camping area in the Angeles National Forest above Sierra Madre and Arcadia was closed Wednesday because the potable water in drinking fountains and campground spigots was contaminated with high levels of coliform bacteria. Due to the government shutdown, no one was available to treat the water.

The gate at the base of Chantry Flat Road was closed and locked by the Sierra Madre Police Department until further notice.

Shutdown

About 380,000 national parks employees were told to stay home while President Donald Trump and Congress try to reach agreement on a spending measure.

Also, an additional 420,000 employees, deemed essential, were ordered to work without pay during the protracted battled over the budget and Trump’s insistence on funding a wall along the U.S. southern border with $5 billion in taxpayer dollars.

The NPS press release was one of the only official communiques coming from the agency, an indication that conditions at Joshua Tree had worsened on Day 9 of the shutdown on Monday.

Theresa Pierno, president and CEO of the National Parks Conservation Association, said the lack of adequate staffing is “putting our nation’s most treasured places and millions of visitors in harm’s way.”

“It’s unrealistic and dangerous to think that parks can remain open with only a skeleton crew and continue with business as usual,” she said.

Volunteers step up

The situation might have been worse without the efforts of volunteers who raised $5,000 towards cleanup.

“We cleaned 21 pit toilets, took out the trash and cleaned the restrooms. Then we went out yesterday and cleaned another 19,” said Sabra Purdy, co-owner of Cliffhanger Guides, which provides rock-climbing expeditions in the park.

Purdy has been working with Friends of Joshua Tree and other local businesses to keep the park clean but the task is overwhelming.

On Monday afternoon, she finished hauling three pickup trucks loaded with trash from the Hidden Valley campground.

“It is not sustainable to have volunteers keep doing this,” she said.

“We can’t afford to wipe all the bottoms who visit Joshua Tree.”