As the federal government enters its third week of shutdown, there have been reports that BASE jumpers and squatters are capitalizing on Yosemite National Park’s reduced crew of rangers.
Yosemite has remained open to visitors, park bathrooms are reportedly unlocked, and emergency response teams remain active.
However, no one is collecting entry fees, visitor centers and exhibits are mostly shut down, and the rangers who used to chase BASE jumpers once they hit the ground have apparently been furloughed.
BASE jumping is illegal in Yosemite National Park.
A park employee who asked to remain anonymous told SFGate that they only knew of “one wilderness ranger working the entire park,” and they are technically a volunteer.
“There are lots of squatters in the campgrounds,” he said. “There are lots of people that truly believe they can do whatever they want because of the lack of rangers. They’ve told us.”
Longtime Yosemite climber Ken Yager says the park feels ‘dead’
Ken Yager, the president and founder of the Yosemite Climbers Association, told the Deseret News he was in the valley last Thursday, speaking at a Yosemite Gateway Partners event.
These events bring surrounding communities together, “and they usually meet with the Park Service,” Yager said. “Obviously, they weren’t there. In fact, the park seemed a little bit dead.”
“It seemed a little quieter than usual,” he said. “I think a lot of people are kind of staying away because of some of the publicity.”
Yager said the park feels similar to how it did in previous shutdowns, but “at least this time they’ve kept some personnel on to at least keep the bathroom doors open.”
During the 2013 shutdown, the Obama administration shut down national parks entirely, and Yager believes this would be better for the valley as a whole. Yager founded Yosemite Facelift, a volunteer organization that has removed over 1.2 million pounds of trash from the valley.
He worries that continuing to run Yosemite without personnel to maintain it will cause it lasting damage.
California college student says his mid-shutdown Yosemite experience was ‘amazing’
Abhi Singh, a student at California State San Bernardino, bought six Yosemite backpacking permits on Sept. 10, just hours before the government shut down.
He told the Deseret News, “I knew there was a chance the shutdown might affect Yosemite, but I decided to take the risk — those permits are really hard to come by, especially for a group of six."
The next day, Singh received an email from Yosemite Conservancy Wilderness Operations saying his permits were still valid, but visitor centers would be closed, and permits would need to be picked up at self-registration stations.
Singh contrasted this with his last trip to the park in the spring. This time, there were no entrance fees, all visitor centers were closed, and “it was difficult to get any help or information since staff weren’t available,” he said.
Singh said he saw one ranger during his trip, and he was stationed at Sub Dome checking for Half Dome permits.
“At least 50 people were sitting around, probably hoping a ranger wouldn’t show,” Singh said. “I also noticed that some people were camping at Little Yosemite Valley without valid permits, or with permits for different campgrounds.”
Backpackers in Yosemite are required to have camping permits, but even when the park is fully functioning, it’s not unusual to go for a couple days without rangers asking for permits.
Singh added that he didn’t personally see any BASE jumpers, but “people at our bonfire mentioned they had seen some during the trip.”