In the latest episode of “The Real Housewives: White House Edition,” Doug Burgum’s Interior Department is picking a fight with a reporter for telling the truth about understaffing in the National Park System due to the GOP’s government shutdown.
National Parks Bureau Chief Ashley Harrell of SFGate revealed that people are recklessly hiking dangerous trails and even BASE jumping from Yosemite’s El Capitan without the oversight of national park staffers.
Interior Secretary Doug Burgum
“FAKE NEWS like this is exactly why Americans don’t trust ‘mainstream’ journalists like [Harrell] who would rather LIE than admit that parks are thriving under [Trump],” the press team for the Interior Department wrote on X Wednesday.
In her article, Harrell cites John DeGrazio, founder of the tour company YExplore Yosemite Adventures, who refers to the understaffed national parks as “the Wild Wild West.”
According to DeGrazio, people try to bypass park staff to summit the famous and treacherous Half Dome every year. But with the cut in staffing due to the GOP’s shutdown, DeGrazio said people are being a lot more bold about their planned illegal climbs, even posting about it on Facebook.
“This is different,” he said. “These people are counting on no enforcement because of the shutdown.”
In a statement to Daily Kos, the Interior Department doubled down on its claim that this is “fake news,” while also reiterating the right-wing lie that the shutdown is Democrats’ fault.
“It’s truly unfortunate that a media outlet would lie about the status of one of our Crown Jewels while our NPS staff are working around the clock to ensure our parks are open and accessible - all without pay thanks to Senate Democrats’ government shutdown,” the statement said.
According to one park employee who spoke to SFGate, they were aware of only one ranger working the entire park, prompting prime availability for squatters and illegal BASE jumpers.
Yosemite visitors view El Capitan on May 20.
“There are lots of squatters in the campgrounds,” they 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.”
But, of course, the Interior Department refutes these claims.
“All 13 of Yosemite’s major campgrounds remain staffed, and personnel are actively monitoring sites and ensuring compliance. Reports of widespread squatting or unmonitored campgrounds are inaccurate,” it said in a statement to Daily Kos. “Our on-the-ground teams confirm that these reports do not accurately reflect current operations or visitor conditions. Yosemite remains safely managed.”
But park safety was already a concern of visitors’ since the start of the shutdown, when the Interior Department’s shutdown plan included closing visitor centers, no longer stocking restrooms, and cutting weather and road conditions updates.
This, on top of the 24% cut in NPS staffing earlier this year, makes for a dangerous combination—one that could be deadly for some.
