Images have been coming out of Joshua Tree National Park over the last few days and, before you scroll down to see, be warned: it’s just heartbreaking.
“Christmastime and New Year’s is one of the busiest times for the park,” Joshua Tree resident Rand Abbott told the Washington Post. “You take that, and then you take away anybody that’s in a national park uniform, and there’s no regulations whatsoever. I was astonished at what people were doing.”
As for what people are doing, well…
I don't care if you're a Democrat or Republican, what's going on at Joshua Tree National Park is a travesty to this nation. True Americans don't destroy and trash our National Parks just because no one's looking., only thugs and criminals do. https://t.co/KdWMCwXQZi pic.twitter.com/obhSgVf9N7
— AI6YR (@ai6yrham) January 10, 2019
During the shutdown, with Joshua Tree National Park open but no staff on duty, visitors cut down Joshua trees so they could drive into sensitive areas where vehicles are banned.
"We had some pretty extensive four-wheel driving." https://t.co/EbSB4bF8hK pic.twitter.com/8kVFClVqxZ
— John Upton (@johnupton) January 10, 2019
Joshua Tree National Park had announced it would close down this week to reassess and try to repair the damage caused during the Trump Shutdown, but then suddenly found funds to stay open.
Saturday marks the start of the fourth week of the Trump Shutdown, making it the longest government shutdown in history.
