"Trash, Toilet Odor Build At National Parks Amid Government Shutdown"

"California's Joshua Tree National Park on Wednesday will become the latest casualty of the federal government's partial shutdown, closing campgrounds amid health and safety concerns over near-capacity pit toilets.

With a quarter of the federal government employee workforce beginning 2019 out of work or working without a paycheck, agencies from the National Park Service to the Environmental Protection Agency and the Smithsonian museums are feeling the pinch.

Unlike some previous government shutdowns, when national parks closed entirely, gates have remained opened under the Trump administration, leaving parks severely understaffed."

Ray Sanchez and Chris Boyette report for CNN January 1, 2019.

SEE ALSO:

"In Shutdown, National Parks Transform Into Wild West — Heavily Populated And Barely Supervised" (Washington Post)

"Garbage, Feces Take Toll On National Parks Amid Shutdown" (AP)

"How The Government Shutdown Is Affecting National Parks" (NPR)

"Yosemite National Park Closes Hetch Hetchy Area, People Entering Closed Areas Being Cited " (National Parks Traveler)

"Some Yosemite National Park Facilities Close Due To Shutdown" (National Parks Traveler)

"Traveler's View: Keeping Parks Open During Government Shutdown Is Bad Idea " (National Parks Traveler)

"Snow closes Arches, Canyonlands. Shutdown leaves no money to plow roads. Nonprofits pitch in at Zion, Bryce." (Salt Lake Tribune)

"National Parks Getting Trashed During Government Shutdown" (HuffPost)

"'It's a Free-For-All': Shutdown Brings Turmoil To Beloved US National Parks" (Guardian)

"Yosemite Visitors Turn Roads Into Toilets As Shutdown Crises Mount At National Parks" (Sacramento Bee)

"National Parks Facing Chaos And Confused Visitors As Shutdown Looms" (Guardian)