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"title": "How to Explore Muir Woods After Dark",
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"content": "\u003cp>“Breathe in deeply through your nose and slowly exhale through your mouth. You are a part of the life cycle of this forest.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s just after 6 p.m. in \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/muir-woods\">Muir Woods\u003c/a> National Monument, and below a thick canopy of redwoods, Ranger Jace Ritchey is speaking to a large group of people gathered on the boardwalk.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But instead of walking these wooden boards, as thousands of tourists do every day at this national park, these people are lying down on them — gazing up at the forest from below as Ritchey leads them through a guided meditation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At this time of day, birds are chirping all around as dusk falls and the gurgle of a creek can be heard far off. The usually bustling park is nearly empty, apart from the lucky group lying on the ground.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This is not your typical walk through these famous trees. This is the \u003ca href=\"https://www.parksconservancy.org/events/mount-tamalpais-muir-woods-national-monument/muir-woods-night-tour\">Muir Woods night tour\u003c/a>, a monthly event on the last Friday of each month, between January and October.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12078106\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-12078106 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/260327-MUIRWOODSNIGHTTOUR-21-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/260327-MUIRWOODSNIGHTTOUR-21-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/260327-MUIRWOODSNIGHTTOUR-21-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/260327-MUIRWOODSNIGHTTOUR-21-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Muir Woods National Monument on March 27, 2026, during a ranger-led night walking tour. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>But getting tickets to this in-demand ranger program is no easy feat. They go on sale two weeks before the tour and sell out almost immediately, Ritchey said, and the May tour garnered more than 400 signups within just an hour.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The theme of this April tour, Ritchey tells the group on the boardwalk, is “community and perspective.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“So as we walk into this old-growth ecosystem, I invite you to connect and reflect on what community means to you,” they said.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Behind the scenes on the night tour\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The tour itself is a two-mile walk, hitting all the famous landmarks in the central part of the park, meandering along the Redwood Grove Trail and Hillside Trail to pass landmarks like Founders Grove and Cathedral Grove.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At the entrance to the park, Ritchey explains to the assembled night tourers that, unlike so many other places where old-growth redwood trees were logged or destroyed, this forest was protected, preserving its biodiversity.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ritchey leads the group into the forest just as the sun is setting.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12078111\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12078111\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/260327-MUIRWOODSNIGHTTOUR-48-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/260327-MUIRWOODSNIGHTTOUR-48-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/260327-MUIRWOODSNIGHTTOUR-48-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/260327-MUIRWOODSNIGHTTOUR-48-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Visitors walk through Muir Woods National Monument on March 27, 2026, during a ranger-led night walking tour. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>One of them, Oakland resident Oren Finard, who’s attending with his in-laws tonight, is actually visiting Muir Woods for the first time.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I can’t think of a prettier way to see this place than at twilight and with nobody else in the park,” he said. “That is pretty special.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In Founders Grove, Muir Woods intern Ellie Hennessy asks the group to share a place where they’ve felt a sense of awe in nature. For Kenny Coy, visiting from Novato with his wife, that’s the Gualala River in Sonoma County.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The river will get super calm and glassy,” Coy said. “It’s really awesome.”[aside postID=news_12050823 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/Armstrong-Redwoods-1.png']When the group lies down on the boardwalk for their meditation, they find that the sounds of the forest become amplified. A woodpecker can be heard, the signature “tuck tuck tuck” of its beak pounding into a nearby tree.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The evening especially is one of those moments where the forest quiets for the visitors, but the forest comes alive for the wildlife,” Ritchey said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ritchey shows photos of other animals that call this park home at night, like bats, deer and even mountain lions, but promises the latter shouldn’t make an appearance tonight.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At Redwood Creek, Ritchey points out the handiwork of the \u003ca href=\"https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/civilian-conservation-corps.htm\">Civilian Conservation Corps\u003c/a>, which, back in the ’30s and ’40s, built stone walls along the creek to control erosion and prevent flooding. Today, they explain, the park takes a more modern approach, allowing debris to build up in the creek naturally to support coho salmon habitat.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Cori Castro, who lives in San Rafael, said she tried for months to get a Muir Woods night tour ticket. Then, this month, her friend came to the rescue with an extra.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Her serendipitous luck even continued on the tour, Castro said, when she glanced up during the meditation and realized she recognized a specific tree from an earlier encounter decades ago.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12078109\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-12078109 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/260327-MUIRWOODSNIGHTTOUR-37-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/260327-MUIRWOODSNIGHTTOUR-37-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/260327-MUIRWOODSNIGHTTOUR-37-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/260327-MUIRWOODSNIGHTTOUR-37-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Ranger Jace Ritchey leads a night walking tour through Muir Woods National Monument on March 27, 2026. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“I looked over, and I was like, ‘That tree looks really familiar,’” she said. “I remember it’s from a picture that I took of my kids.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That tree from the photograph “looks exactly the same,” she said. “And my kids are 30 and 28 now.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Castro said she’s been feeling weighed down by politics, the news and the general state of the world.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“But you come here, and you’re like — all that goes away,” she said. “That’s what this reminds me of: how insignificant I am, and we are. It gives me hope.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>‘Be one, benevolent’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The night hikers follow a trail that climbs up above the trees, bringing them eye-to-eye with the canopy. Darkness is closing in, and they’re watching their step carefully while using their flashlights and the light of the moon high in the sky, a bright beacon above.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The group stops for a history lesson. It starts with all the usual players — the white men who fought to protect this place from logging and destruction, and who named this park after naturalist John Muir.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But Ritchey said there’s more to the story, telling the assembled hikers about the stewardship of the Coast Miwok and the contributions of \u003ca href=\"https://www.nps.gov/articles/how-women-saved-muir-woods.htm\">a group of women \u003c/a>who fought for park conservation in the early 1900s. And Ritchey calls out the founders’ belief in eugenics, “who I kid you not saw in redwood trees a metaphor for the greatness of white people,” they said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12078114\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12078114\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/260327-MUIRWOODSNIGHTTOUR-59-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/260327-MUIRWOODSNIGHTTOUR-59-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/260327-MUIRWOODSNIGHTTOUR-59-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/260327-MUIRWOODSNIGHTTOUR-59-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Ranger Jace Ritchey leads a night walking tour through Muir Woods National Monument on March 27, 2026. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>In keeping with tonight’s theme of community and perspective, Ritchey draws a lesson for the group.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Just like the trees are connected to their ecosystem, people connected, shared their resources, and said, ‘We want to protect a place we love. We will take action to do so,’” Ritchey said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“As darkness falls upon this place — and only feet away from you, you cannot see the faces of each other — know you are surrounded by people who care.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s the end of the tour, and time to pass back through Cathedral Grove — a federally designated “quiet area.” In the 1940s, \u003ca href=\"https://www.nps.gov/articles/the-united-nations-memorial-service-at-muir-woods.htm\">delegates from the United Nations came\u003c/a> to this spot during the organization’s founding to remind them what peace feels like.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12078107\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-12078107 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/260327-MUIRWOODSNIGHTTOUR-31-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/260327-MUIRWOODSNIGHTTOUR-31-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/260327-MUIRWOODSNIGHTTOUR-31-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/260327-MUIRWOODSNIGHTTOUR-31-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Oren Finard (left) and Rye Jupiter Seekins take part in a forest-bathing exercise, lying down and listening to the surrounding forest, during a night walking tour through Muir Woods National Monument on March 27, 2026. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Ritchey asks the group to turn off their lights and “bask in moonglow.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And to end, Ritchey’s favorite part of the tour: When the hikers make a single file line and wait for the person ahead of them to disappear into the silent darkness before they follow. Even though they’re all just a few paces behind each other, it feels like they’re out here alone in the forest.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I hope to inspire people to be one, benevolent, like so many presences in this forest are,” Ritchey said. “But ultimately, we have that choice to make. So make a good one.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Happy trails and good night.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>How to take an unexpected tour of Muir Woods to know about this and other ranger tours\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.parksconservancy.org/events/mount-tamalpais-muir-woods-national-monument/muir-woods-night-tour\">Tickets for the free Muir Woods night tour\u003c/a> are released two weeks ahead of the program at 8 a.m., and you can reserve tickets for a maximum of 6 people. You won’t be able to go through the ticket reservation process until that “two weeks before” date.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12050823/muir-woods-reservation-parking-redwood-forests-bay-area-alternative\">Muir Woods parking reservations\u003c/a> are not required for this tour if you arrive after 6 p.m.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12078108\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-12078108 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/260327-MUIRWOODSNIGHTTOUR-36-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/260327-MUIRWOODSNIGHTTOUR-36-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/260327-MUIRWOODSNIGHTTOUR-36-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/260327-MUIRWOODSNIGHTTOUR-36-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Muir Woods National Monument on March 27, 2026, during a ranger-led night walking tour. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The 2026 Muir Woods night tours take place on the following Fridays:\u003c/p>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>April 24 (registration passed)\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>May 29 (opens 5/15)\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>June 26 (opens 6/12)\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>July 31 (opens 7/17)\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Aug. 28 (opens 8/14)\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Sept. 25 (opens 9/11)\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Oct. 30 (opens 10/16)\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003cp>You could also check out the more strenuous 3-mile \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/DUqnJu2D8tp/\">“Owl Prowl”\u003c/a> guided hike at dusk in Muir Woods. Reservations are also required for this tour, which takes place on:\u003c/p>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>May 9 (reservations open April 25)\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Aug 15 (reservations open Aug. 1)\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Nov 7 (reservations open Oct. 24)\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12078118\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12078118\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/260327-MUIRWOODSNIGHTTOUR-66-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/260327-MUIRWOODSNIGHTTOUR-66-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/260327-MUIRWOODSNIGHTTOUR-66-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/260327-MUIRWOODSNIGHTTOUR-66-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Visitors walk through Muir Woods National Monument on March 27, 2026, during a ranger-led night walking tour. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>While night tour tickets are tough to snag, if you miss out, there are other free Muir Woods tours open to the public that don’t require signups, including:\u003c/p>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>“Welcome to The Woods” 15-minute talks: Offered daily at 10:15 a.m. and 1:15 p.m. (and at 3:15 p.m. starting in May)\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>One-hour ranger tours: Offered Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and Monday at 11 a.m.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Occasional Muir Woods \u003ca href=\"https://www.nps.gov/planyourvisit/event-details.htm?id=18475460-98D8-FFE0-AD0BA5EC3E0972AB\">Junior Ranger Days\u003c/a> with activities for all ages. Entry fee is waived for this event, but parking reservations are still required.\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>“Breathe in deeply through your nose and slowly exhale through your mouth. You are a part of the life cycle of this forest.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s just after 6 p.m. in \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/muir-woods\">Muir Woods\u003c/a> National Monument, and below a thick canopy of redwoods, Ranger Jace Ritchey is speaking to a large group of people gathered on the boardwalk.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But instead of walking these wooden boards, as thousands of tourists do every day at this national park, these people are lying down on them — gazing up at the forest from below as Ritchey leads them through a guided meditation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At this time of day, birds are chirping all around as dusk falls and the gurgle of a creek can be heard far off. The usually bustling park is nearly empty, apart from the lucky group lying on the ground.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This is not your typical walk through these famous trees. This is the \u003ca href=\"https://www.parksconservancy.org/events/mount-tamalpais-muir-woods-national-monument/muir-woods-night-tour\">Muir Woods night tour\u003c/a>, a monthly event on the last Friday of each month, between January and October.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12078106\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-12078106 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/260327-MUIRWOODSNIGHTTOUR-21-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/260327-MUIRWOODSNIGHTTOUR-21-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/260327-MUIRWOODSNIGHTTOUR-21-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/260327-MUIRWOODSNIGHTTOUR-21-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Muir Woods National Monument on March 27, 2026, during a ranger-led night walking tour. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>But getting tickets to this in-demand ranger program is no easy feat. They go on sale two weeks before the tour and sell out almost immediately, Ritchey said, and the May tour garnered more than 400 signups within just an hour.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The theme of this April tour, Ritchey tells the group on the boardwalk, is “community and perspective.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“So as we walk into this old-growth ecosystem, I invite you to connect and reflect on what community means to you,” they said.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Behind the scenes on the night tour\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The tour itself is a two-mile walk, hitting all the famous landmarks in the central part of the park, meandering along the Redwood Grove Trail and Hillside Trail to pass landmarks like Founders Grove and Cathedral Grove.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At the entrance to the park, Ritchey explains to the assembled night tourers that, unlike so many other places where old-growth redwood trees were logged or destroyed, this forest was protected, preserving its biodiversity.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ritchey leads the group into the forest just as the sun is setting.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12078111\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12078111\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/260327-MUIRWOODSNIGHTTOUR-48-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/260327-MUIRWOODSNIGHTTOUR-48-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/260327-MUIRWOODSNIGHTTOUR-48-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/260327-MUIRWOODSNIGHTTOUR-48-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Visitors walk through Muir Woods National Monument on March 27, 2026, during a ranger-led night walking tour. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>One of them, Oakland resident Oren Finard, who’s attending with his in-laws tonight, is actually visiting Muir Woods for the first time.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I can’t think of a prettier way to see this place than at twilight and with nobody else in the park,” he said. “That is pretty special.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In Founders Grove, Muir Woods intern Ellie Hennessy asks the group to share a place where they’ve felt a sense of awe in nature. For Kenny Coy, visiting from Novato with his wife, that’s the Gualala River in Sonoma County.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The river will get super calm and glassy,” Coy said. “It’s really awesome.”\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>When the group lies down on the boardwalk for their meditation, they find that the sounds of the forest become amplified. A woodpecker can be heard, the signature “tuck tuck tuck” of its beak pounding into a nearby tree.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The evening especially is one of those moments where the forest quiets for the visitors, but the forest comes alive for the wildlife,” Ritchey said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ritchey shows photos of other animals that call this park home at night, like bats, deer and even mountain lions, but promises the latter shouldn’t make an appearance tonight.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At Redwood Creek, Ritchey points out the handiwork of the \u003ca href=\"https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/civilian-conservation-corps.htm\">Civilian Conservation Corps\u003c/a>, which, back in the ’30s and ’40s, built stone walls along the creek to control erosion and prevent flooding. Today, they explain, the park takes a more modern approach, allowing debris to build up in the creek naturally to support coho salmon habitat.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Cori Castro, who lives in San Rafael, said she tried for months to get a Muir Woods night tour ticket. Then, this month, her friend came to the rescue with an extra.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Her serendipitous luck even continued on the tour, Castro said, when she glanced up during the meditation and realized she recognized a specific tree from an earlier encounter decades ago.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12078109\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-12078109 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/260327-MUIRWOODSNIGHTTOUR-37-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/260327-MUIRWOODSNIGHTTOUR-37-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/260327-MUIRWOODSNIGHTTOUR-37-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/260327-MUIRWOODSNIGHTTOUR-37-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Ranger Jace Ritchey leads a night walking tour through Muir Woods National Monument on March 27, 2026. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“I looked over, and I was like, ‘That tree looks really familiar,’” she said. “I remember it’s from a picture that I took of my kids.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That tree from the photograph “looks exactly the same,” she said. “And my kids are 30 and 28 now.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Castro said she’s been feeling weighed down by politics, the news and the general state of the world.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“But you come here, and you’re like — all that goes away,” she said. “That’s what this reminds me of: how insignificant I am, and we are. It gives me hope.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>‘Be one, benevolent’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The night hikers follow a trail that climbs up above the trees, bringing them eye-to-eye with the canopy. Darkness is closing in, and they’re watching their step carefully while using their flashlights and the light of the moon high in the sky, a bright beacon above.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The group stops for a history lesson. It starts with all the usual players — the white men who fought to protect this place from logging and destruction, and who named this park after naturalist John Muir.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But Ritchey said there’s more to the story, telling the assembled hikers about the stewardship of the Coast Miwok and the contributions of \u003ca href=\"https://www.nps.gov/articles/how-women-saved-muir-woods.htm\">a group of women \u003c/a>who fought for park conservation in the early 1900s. And Ritchey calls out the founders’ belief in eugenics, “who I kid you not saw in redwood trees a metaphor for the greatness of white people,” they said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12078114\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12078114\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/260327-MUIRWOODSNIGHTTOUR-59-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/260327-MUIRWOODSNIGHTTOUR-59-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/260327-MUIRWOODSNIGHTTOUR-59-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/260327-MUIRWOODSNIGHTTOUR-59-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Ranger Jace Ritchey leads a night walking tour through Muir Woods National Monument on March 27, 2026. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>In keeping with tonight’s theme of community and perspective, Ritchey draws a lesson for the group.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Just like the trees are connected to their ecosystem, people connected, shared their resources, and said, ‘We want to protect a place we love. We will take action to do so,’” Ritchey said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“As darkness falls upon this place — and only feet away from you, you cannot see the faces of each other — know you are surrounded by people who care.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s the end of the tour, and time to pass back through Cathedral Grove — a federally designated “quiet area.” In the 1940s, \u003ca href=\"https://www.nps.gov/articles/the-united-nations-memorial-service-at-muir-woods.htm\">delegates from the United Nations came\u003c/a> to this spot during the organization’s founding to remind them what peace feels like.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12078107\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-12078107 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/260327-MUIRWOODSNIGHTTOUR-31-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/260327-MUIRWOODSNIGHTTOUR-31-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/260327-MUIRWOODSNIGHTTOUR-31-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/260327-MUIRWOODSNIGHTTOUR-31-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Oren Finard (left) and Rye Jupiter Seekins take part in a forest-bathing exercise, lying down and listening to the surrounding forest, during a night walking tour through Muir Woods National Monument on March 27, 2026. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Ritchey asks the group to turn off their lights and “bask in moonglow.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And to end, Ritchey’s favorite part of the tour: When the hikers make a single file line and wait for the person ahead of them to disappear into the silent darkness before they follow. Even though they’re all just a few paces behind each other, it feels like they’re out here alone in the forest.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I hope to inspire people to be one, benevolent, like so many presences in this forest are,” Ritchey said. “But ultimately, we have that choice to make. So make a good one.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Happy trails and good night.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>How to take an unexpected tour of Muir Woods to know about this and other ranger tours\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.parksconservancy.org/events/mount-tamalpais-muir-woods-national-monument/muir-woods-night-tour\">Tickets for the free Muir Woods night tour\u003c/a> are released two weeks ahead of the program at 8 a.m., and you can reserve tickets for a maximum of 6 people. You won’t be able to go through the ticket reservation process until that “two weeks before” date.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12050823/muir-woods-reservation-parking-redwood-forests-bay-area-alternative\">Muir Woods parking reservations\u003c/a> are not required for this tour if you arrive after 6 p.m.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12078108\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-12078108 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/260327-MUIRWOODSNIGHTTOUR-36-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/260327-MUIRWOODSNIGHTTOUR-36-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/260327-MUIRWOODSNIGHTTOUR-36-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/260327-MUIRWOODSNIGHTTOUR-36-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Muir Woods National Monument on March 27, 2026, during a ranger-led night walking tour. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The 2026 Muir Woods night tours take place on the following Fridays:\u003c/p>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>April 24 (registration passed)\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>May 29 (opens 5/15)\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>June 26 (opens 6/12)\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>July 31 (opens 7/17)\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Aug. 28 (opens 8/14)\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Sept. 25 (opens 9/11)\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Oct. 30 (opens 10/16)\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003cp>You could also check out the more strenuous 3-mile \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/DUqnJu2D8tp/\">“Owl Prowl”\u003c/a> guided hike at dusk in Muir Woods. Reservations are also required for this tour, which takes place on:\u003c/p>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>May 9 (reservations open April 25)\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Aug 15 (reservations open Aug. 1)\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Nov 7 (reservations open Oct. 24)\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12078118\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12078118\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/260327-MUIRWOODSNIGHTTOUR-66-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/260327-MUIRWOODSNIGHTTOUR-66-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/260327-MUIRWOODSNIGHTTOUR-66-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/260327-MUIRWOODSNIGHTTOUR-66-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Visitors walk through Muir Woods National Monument on March 27, 2026, during a ranger-led night walking tour. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>While night tour tickets are tough to snag, if you miss out, there are other free Muir Woods tours open to the public that don’t require signups, including:\u003c/p>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>“Welcome to The Woods” 15-minute talks: Offered daily at 10:15 a.m. and 1:15 p.m. (and at 3:15 p.m. starting in May)\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>One-hour ranger tours: Offered Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and Monday at 11 a.m.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Occasional Muir Woods \u003ca href=\"https://www.nps.gov/planyourvisit/event-details.htm?id=18475460-98D8-FFE0-AD0BA5EC3E0972AB\">Junior Ranger Days\u003c/a> with activities for all ages. Entry fee is waived for this event, but parking reservations are still required.\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"slug": "yosemite-national-park-no-reservations-2026-glacier-arches-timed-entry",
"title": "Yosemite Won't Require Car Reservations in 2026. Park Advocates Are Worried",
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"headTitle": "Yosemite Won’t Require Car Reservations in 2026. Park Advocates Are Worried | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cp>Advocates and tourism workers say they’re alarmed at \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/yosemite-national-park\">Yosemite National Park\u003c/a>‘s plans to scrap timed vehicle entry reservations in 2026.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>NPS vehicle reservation systems at \u003ca href=\"https://www.fox13now.com/news/local-news/utahs-national-parks/arches-national-park-ditches-reservation-system-open-to-visitors-at-all-times\">Arches National Park in Utah\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://dailymontanan.com/briefs/glacier-confirms-its-dropping-ticketed-entry/\">Glacier National Park in Montana\u003c/a> were also withdrawn in 2026.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a Feb. 18 press release, National Park Service spokesperson Scott Gediman wrote that the Yosemite decision “follows a comprehensive evaluation of traffic patterns, parking availability and visitor use during the 2025 season.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But operators within the park and advocates have expressed concern that the Department of the Interior, which oversees the NPS, is downplaying the likelihood of overcrowding during the summer months.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>They also worry that, in addition to \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12065737/yosemite-national-park-new-fees-international-tourists-foreigners-annual-pass-2026\">new fees being collected from international visitors\u003c/a>, wait times to get into the park and damage to its natural environment could increase dramatically this year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12062223\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1999px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-12062223 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251028-YOSEMITESHUTDOWN-93-BL_QED-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1999\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251028-YOSEMITESHUTDOWN-93-BL_QED-KQED.jpg 1999w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251028-YOSEMITESHUTDOWN-93-BL_QED-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251028-YOSEMITESHUTDOWN-93-BL_QED-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1999px) 100vw, 1999px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Tour guide William Fontana points visitors to climbers on El Capitan during a tour of the Yosemite Valley in Yosemite National Park in the Sierra Nevada on Oct. 28, 2025. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“I really don’t know what this looks like,” said Elisabeth Barton, founding member and CEO of tour company Echo Adventure Cooperative, which operates guided tours in and around Yosemite and Stanislaus National Forest. “I’m nervous because this is where I work and I play and I live, and the idea of it being run ragged just breaks my heart.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In response to concerns about traffic and congestion, Yosemite Superintendent Ray McPadden\u003ca href=\"https://www.sfchronicle.com/outdoors/article/yosemite-national-park-reservation-21338944.php\"> told the \u003cem>San Francisco Chronicle\u003c/em>\u003c/a> that “[h]aving the park being full is not a bad thing, it’s not a crisis.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There’s always been high demand for Yosemite,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>‘Pretty problematic’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>While it was discussed before the COVID-19 pandemic, the system was first \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11823478/yosemite-open-to-public-again-starting-thursday\">implemented in 2020\u003c/a> in response to the pandemic and after record visitation to the park in 2019 to limit overcrowding at the park. After a \u003ca href=\"https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/yosemite-national-park-public-comment-crowds/3267489/\">pause in 2023,\u003c/a> the program continued through the 2024 and 2025 seasons.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Reservations have previously been made through \u003ca href=\"http://recreation.gov\">Recreation.gov\u003c/a>, the federal government’s booking system for making reservations on national park land, including camping slots. The “\u003ca href=\"https://www.recreation.gov/timed-entry/10086745\">Yosemite National Park Ticketed Entry\u003c/a>” page is still live, but informs visitors that reservations will not be in place for 2026.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12062211\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1999px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-12062211 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251027-YOSEMITESHUTDOWN-18-BL_QED-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1999\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251027-YOSEMITESHUTDOWN-18-BL_QED-KQED.jpg 1999w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251027-YOSEMITESHUTDOWN-18-BL_QED-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251027-YOSEMITESHUTDOWN-18-BL_QED-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1999px) 100vw, 1999px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Visitors look at a welcome at the entrance to Yosemite National Park in the Sierra Nevada Mountains on Oct. 27, 2025. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>With \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/forum/2010101910047/yosemite-and-other-ca-national-parks-underfunded-understaffed-this-summer\">staffing already down\u003c/a> at the park, the decision to remove timed vehicle reservations has the potential to overwhelm park staff and cause damage, warned Mark Rose, Sierra Nevada program manager for advocacy group the National Parks Conservation Association.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Rose also expressed concern about the possibility of hours-long wait times to enter the park, which could ultimately result in would-be visitors being turned away due to a lack of parking.[aside postID=news_12074453 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/SJ-with-Trans-Flag-in-Background-Photographer-Miya-Tsudome.jpg']“The park experience that you’re gonna get at Yosemite this summer is something that nobody should have to face,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Rose said he’s most worried about the Fourth of July, which is also free to enter this year as part of the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12065737/yosemite-national-park-new-fees-international-tourists-foreigners-annual-pass-2026\">Trump administration’s changes to fee-free days\u003c/a> — which included removing Martin Luther King Jr. Day and Juneteenth from the list of days on which visitors can enter the park for free.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“So, having it free, having no reservation system in place, having seen what it can be like on Fourth of July in the past? We know it’s gonna be pretty problematic this year,” Rose said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a statement, U.S. Sen. Alex Padilla echoed advocates’ concerns, calling the Yosemite decision “shortsighted.” Padilla also urged Congress to pass \u003ca href=\"https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/senate-bill/4451/text\">a bill he introduced\u003c/a> last year to review reservation systems across all federal lands to make improvements in transparency, usability and fairness.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“With our national park system already strained by Donald Trump’s funding and staffing cuts, this decision will limit outdoor recreation opportunities, degrade the Park’s natural resources, and strain local businesses that rely on a steady stream of Park visitors,” Padilla said.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>The view from Yosemite\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>According to the release, the park’s analysis “found that most weekdays maintained available parking, stable traffic flow and visitation levels within the park’s operational capacity,” NPS’s Gediman said. “These findings indicate that a season-wide reservation requirement is not the most effective approach for 2026.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But tour guide Barton contested the NPS’s claims that crowds ever truly subside during the summer, even on weekdays.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12062225\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12062225\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251028-YOSEMITESHUTDOWN-114-BL_QED-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251028-YOSEMITESHUTDOWN-114-BL_QED-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251028-YOSEMITESHUTDOWN-114-BL_QED-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251028-YOSEMITESHUTDOWN-114-BL_QED-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Visitors stand at Tunnel View overlook in Yosemite National Park in the Sierra Nevada Mountains on Oct. 28, 2025. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“Between Memorial Day and Labor Day, there is no such thing as a weekday or a weekend,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>According to the \u003ca href=\"https://www.npca.org/articles/11337-interior-cancels-successful-reservation-systems-at-arches-and-yosemite\">National Parks Conservation Association\u003c/a>, visitation to Yosemite increased by more than 30% between 2000 and 2019. And from 2020 to 2024, Rose said staff “fine-tuned” a visitor access management system — one he said was embraced by the public, staff and surrounding communities.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Now, Rose said he’s concerned how data from Yosemite’s 2025 season, when the park was still using vehicle reservations, has been used to justify removing such reservations in 2026. KQED has reached out to NPS for more specifics on the 2025 reservation system.[aside postID=news_12074158 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/GettyImages-2206235259.jpg']“It’s ignoring the decades of work that was put into creating the reservation system,” Rose said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The NPS did not respond to inquiries about the analysis that led to their decision to eliminate reservations. But in the news release announcing the end of the reservation program, Yosemite’s McPadden said that “[w]e are committed to visitor access, safety, and resource protection, and will continue active traffic management strategies to ensure a great visitor experience.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“While reservation systems are one valuable management tool, our data demonstrates that a season-wide reservation requirement is not the most effective approach for the coming season,” McPadden said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The release also noted the park plans to continue strategies that “proved effective” during the 2025 season, like real-time traffic monitoring, active parking management, added staffing during peak periods, improved visitor information and promoting visitation during off-days and outside of Yosemite Valley, where the park tends to be the busiest.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "Park advocates say Yosemite scrapping timed tickets could mean overcrowding and long wait times this summer — and even damage to the park.",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Advocates and tourism workers say they’re alarmed at \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/yosemite-national-park\">Yosemite National Park\u003c/a>‘s plans to scrap timed vehicle entry reservations in 2026.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>NPS vehicle reservation systems at \u003ca href=\"https://www.fox13now.com/news/local-news/utahs-national-parks/arches-national-park-ditches-reservation-system-open-to-visitors-at-all-times\">Arches National Park in Utah\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://dailymontanan.com/briefs/glacier-confirms-its-dropping-ticketed-entry/\">Glacier National Park in Montana\u003c/a> were also withdrawn in 2026.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a Feb. 18 press release, National Park Service spokesperson Scott Gediman wrote that the Yosemite decision “follows a comprehensive evaluation of traffic patterns, parking availability and visitor use during the 2025 season.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But operators within the park and advocates have expressed concern that the Department of the Interior, which oversees the NPS, is downplaying the likelihood of overcrowding during the summer months.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>They also worry that, in addition to \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12065737/yosemite-national-park-new-fees-international-tourists-foreigners-annual-pass-2026\">new fees being collected from international visitors\u003c/a>, wait times to get into the park and damage to its natural environment could increase dramatically this year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12062223\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1999px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-12062223 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251028-YOSEMITESHUTDOWN-93-BL_QED-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1999\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251028-YOSEMITESHUTDOWN-93-BL_QED-KQED.jpg 1999w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251028-YOSEMITESHUTDOWN-93-BL_QED-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251028-YOSEMITESHUTDOWN-93-BL_QED-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1999px) 100vw, 1999px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Tour guide William Fontana points visitors to climbers on El Capitan during a tour of the Yosemite Valley in Yosemite National Park in the Sierra Nevada on Oct. 28, 2025. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“I really don’t know what this looks like,” said Elisabeth Barton, founding member and CEO of tour company Echo Adventure Cooperative, which operates guided tours in and around Yosemite and Stanislaus National Forest. “I’m nervous because this is where I work and I play and I live, and the idea of it being run ragged just breaks my heart.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In response to concerns about traffic and congestion, Yosemite Superintendent Ray McPadden\u003ca href=\"https://www.sfchronicle.com/outdoors/article/yosemite-national-park-reservation-21338944.php\"> told the \u003cem>San Francisco Chronicle\u003c/em>\u003c/a> that “[h]aving the park being full is not a bad thing, it’s not a crisis.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There’s always been high demand for Yosemite,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>‘Pretty problematic’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>While it was discussed before the COVID-19 pandemic, the system was first \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11823478/yosemite-open-to-public-again-starting-thursday\">implemented in 2020\u003c/a> in response to the pandemic and after record visitation to the park in 2019 to limit overcrowding at the park. After a \u003ca href=\"https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/yosemite-national-park-public-comment-crowds/3267489/\">pause in 2023,\u003c/a> the program continued through the 2024 and 2025 seasons.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Reservations have previously been made through \u003ca href=\"http://recreation.gov\">Recreation.gov\u003c/a>, the federal government’s booking system for making reservations on national park land, including camping slots. The “\u003ca href=\"https://www.recreation.gov/timed-entry/10086745\">Yosemite National Park Ticketed Entry\u003c/a>” page is still live, but informs visitors that reservations will not be in place for 2026.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12062211\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1999px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-12062211 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251027-YOSEMITESHUTDOWN-18-BL_QED-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1999\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251027-YOSEMITESHUTDOWN-18-BL_QED-KQED.jpg 1999w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251027-YOSEMITESHUTDOWN-18-BL_QED-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251027-YOSEMITESHUTDOWN-18-BL_QED-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1999px) 100vw, 1999px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Visitors look at a welcome at the entrance to Yosemite National Park in the Sierra Nevada Mountains on Oct. 27, 2025. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>With \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/forum/2010101910047/yosemite-and-other-ca-national-parks-underfunded-understaffed-this-summer\">staffing already down\u003c/a> at the park, the decision to remove timed vehicle reservations has the potential to overwhelm park staff and cause damage, warned Mark Rose, Sierra Nevada program manager for advocacy group the National Parks Conservation Association.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Rose also expressed concern about the possibility of hours-long wait times to enter the park, which could ultimately result in would-be visitors being turned away due to a lack of parking.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>“The park experience that you’re gonna get at Yosemite this summer is something that nobody should have to face,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Rose said he’s most worried about the Fourth of July, which is also free to enter this year as part of the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12065737/yosemite-national-park-new-fees-international-tourists-foreigners-annual-pass-2026\">Trump administration’s changes to fee-free days\u003c/a> — which included removing Martin Luther King Jr. Day and Juneteenth from the list of days on which visitors can enter the park for free.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“So, having it free, having no reservation system in place, having seen what it can be like on Fourth of July in the past? We know it’s gonna be pretty problematic this year,” Rose said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a statement, U.S. Sen. Alex Padilla echoed advocates’ concerns, calling the Yosemite decision “shortsighted.” Padilla also urged Congress to pass \u003ca href=\"https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/senate-bill/4451/text\">a bill he introduced\u003c/a> last year to review reservation systems across all federal lands to make improvements in transparency, usability and fairness.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“With our national park system already strained by Donald Trump’s funding and staffing cuts, this decision will limit outdoor recreation opportunities, degrade the Park’s natural resources, and strain local businesses that rely on a steady stream of Park visitors,” Padilla said.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>The view from Yosemite\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>According to the release, the park’s analysis “found that most weekdays maintained available parking, stable traffic flow and visitation levels within the park’s operational capacity,” NPS’s Gediman said. “These findings indicate that a season-wide reservation requirement is not the most effective approach for 2026.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But tour guide Barton contested the NPS’s claims that crowds ever truly subside during the summer, even on weekdays.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12062225\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12062225\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251028-YOSEMITESHUTDOWN-114-BL_QED-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251028-YOSEMITESHUTDOWN-114-BL_QED-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251028-YOSEMITESHUTDOWN-114-BL_QED-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251028-YOSEMITESHUTDOWN-114-BL_QED-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Visitors stand at Tunnel View overlook in Yosemite National Park in the Sierra Nevada Mountains on Oct. 28, 2025. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“Between Memorial Day and Labor Day, there is no such thing as a weekday or a weekend,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>According to the \u003ca href=\"https://www.npca.org/articles/11337-interior-cancels-successful-reservation-systems-at-arches-and-yosemite\">National Parks Conservation Association\u003c/a>, visitation to Yosemite increased by more than 30% between 2000 and 2019. And from 2020 to 2024, Rose said staff “fine-tuned” a visitor access management system — one he said was embraced by the public, staff and surrounding communities.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Now, Rose said he’s concerned how data from Yosemite’s 2025 season, when the park was still using vehicle reservations, has been used to justify removing such reservations in 2026. KQED has reached out to NPS for more specifics on the 2025 reservation system.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>“It’s ignoring the decades of work that was put into creating the reservation system,” Rose said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The NPS did not respond to inquiries about the analysis that led to their decision to eliminate reservations. But in the news release announcing the end of the reservation program, Yosemite’s McPadden said that “[w]e are committed to visitor access, safety, and resource protection, and will continue active traffic management strategies to ensure a great visitor experience.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“While reservation systems are one valuable management tool, our data demonstrates that a season-wide reservation requirement is not the most effective approach for the coming season,” McPadden said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The release also noted the park plans to continue strategies that “proved effective” during the 2025 season, like real-time traffic monitoring, active parking management, added staffing during peak periods, improved visitor information and promoting visitation during off-days and outside of Yosemite Valley, where the park tends to be the busiest.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"slug": "a-morale-bomb-national-park-workers-face-wage-cuts-and-dubiously-legal-review-system",
"title": "‘A Morale Bomb’: National Park Workers Face Wage Cuts and 'Dubiously Legal' Review System",
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"headTitle": "‘A Morale Bomb’: National Park Workers Face Wage Cuts and ‘Dubiously Legal’ Review System | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cp>As National Park Service leaders grapple with\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12054083/yosemite-sequoia-and-kings-canyon-workers-unionize-amid-fears-of-further-firings\"> reduced staffing\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12065920/trump-orders-dei-out-of-national-park-bookstores\">restrictive, ideological policies\u003c/a>, maintenance workers at Yosemite National Park are now also facing a pay cut in 2026 that could reduce hourly wages by as much as $3.50 for some positions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That’s after the National Park Service told its staff that pay for newly hired or promoted employees will now be based on rates for the Fresno area, instead of Stockton, as they have been \u003ca href=\"https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2009/05/13/E9-11193/prevailing-rate-systems-redefinition-of-the-fresno-and-stockton-ca-appropriated-fund-federal-wage\">for the last 16 years\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The National Federation of Federal Employees’ Local 465, which represents NPS employees at five national parks, including Yosemite, put out a press release this week saying workers were told of the wage change in late November.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The move comes as park service leaders nationwide say they’re being told to make changes to employee reviews and performance ratings that they worry could influence future potential layoffs they fear are coming in the near future.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Former national park employee Elizabeth Villano, a spokesperson for advocacy group Resistance Rangers, called the changes to the review process a “morale bomb” for workers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“They’re going to continue to push out qualified, passionate civil servants from their job,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12060933\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-12060933 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/NationalParkServiceGetty.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1335\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/NationalParkServiceGetty.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/NationalParkServiceGetty-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/NationalParkServiceGetty-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A National Park Service employee at Yosemite National Park, California, on March 1, 2025. \u003ccite>(Laure Andrillon/AFP via Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Any wage-grade employee, like maintenance workers for park facilities and trails, hired, promoted or changing positions as of Jan. 1, 2026, will have their pay changed — “a reduction,” the NFFE release said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One NPS employee who is also a NFFE union representative called the change a “slap in the face” for the hundreds of employees affected, many of whom commute one or even two hours into work and face steep costs of living in and around the Yosemite area. KQED has agreed not to publish the names of employees because they fear retribution.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>National parks are still suffering from a \u003ca href=\"https://www.npca.org/articles/9551-staffing-crisis-at-national-parks-reaches-breaking-point-new-data-shows-24\">24% reduction\u003c/a> in their workforce. While the Department of the Interior has technically \u003ca href=\"https://www.doi.gov/document-library/human-resources-policy/memo-2025-lifting-may-2-2025-personnel-actions-freeze\">lifted\u003c/a> its hiring freeze, the NFFE is continuing to raise concerns about the Trump administration’s ongoing \u003ca href=\"https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/02/implementing-the-presidents-department-of-government-efficiency-cost-efficiency-initiative/\">policies\u003c/a> promoting government efficiency, which have instructed parks to reduce their workforces.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The loss in pay and the pressure to fill gaps will likely result in added stress to the Yosemite [wage-grade] workers, lower retention, fewer opportunities for workers to detail into different positions to gain career experience, and slower overall park operations,” the release states.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In an email to KQED, a spokesperson for the Department of the Interior, which oversees the National Park Service, said that the U.S. Office of Personnel Management “created new locality areas for the Federal Wage System effective October 1,” which meant that “most wage system employees will see a pay increase under the new structure.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“A small number of locations, including Yosemite, will see a decrease based on the updated OPM tables,” said the DOI spokesperson. “We are coordinating with the Office of Human Capital to understand the impacts and to identify options that may help affected employees.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Regarding reviews within the parks system, the DOI said that “There is no percentage cap on [Employee Performance Appraisal Plan] ratings,” and that “consistent with OPM’s government-wide performance management guidance, we are working to normalize ratings across the agency. The goal of this effort is to ensure fair, consistent performance evaluations across all of our parks and programs.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Reviews an ‘insult to injury’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Currently underway at parks nationwide is a wider discussion about employee performance plans, whose drafting and implementation have been delayed all year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>According to several national park employees from across the country, NPS leadership has instructed them to abide by a new “quota” or “cap” on high performance ratings — currently issued on a one-to-five scale. Under the revised system, the employees say they’ve been told, only around 30% of employees appear to be allowed to get high ratings. Different parks have been given different numbers over the past week, Villano said, only adding to the confusion.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11970738\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11970738\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/12/GettyImages-1846156476-scaled-e1759449061670.jpg\" alt=\"state parks\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A welcome sign is seen at the Yosemite National Park on Dec. 13, 2023. \u003ccite>(Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu via Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The NPS employees say this mandate has essentially forced park leaders to artificially deflate their employees’ performance reviews — a move Villano said is akin to “asking employees and supervisors to lie.” She also called the action “dubiously legal” and potentially in violation of the \u003ca href=\"https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-5/chapter-I/subchapter-B/part-430/subpart-B/section-430.208\">federal code\u003c/a> that outlines how performance ratings must occur.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“That’s them taking a dagger into the backs of everyone who’s been working overtime, crushing themselves just to keep the parks open, safe, accessible and the resources protected,” Villano said. “It feels like an insult to injury.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Park superintendents, she said, were “told explicitly that the management of their park, no matter how above and beyond they were going, was a three, except for if they were managing more than one park, then they could maybe get a four,” Villano said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One park superintendent, who also asked to remain anonymous for fear of retaliation or firing, said by the time they got the new instructions, they had already sent out their initial performance reviews. Now, they’re being told to rescind and resubmit them because they didn’t conform to the new requirements, they said.[aside postID=news_12065920 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251027-YosemiteShutdown-51-BL_qed.jpg']“Employees across the parks know what they would have gotten and are now going to get something different,” the superintendent said. “All of the park superintendents are having to carry the liability for this.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Also concerning is the potential “self-fulfilling prophecy” of giving mid-tier grades to most employees, said Bill Wade, executive director of the Association of National Park Rangers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If they know ahead of time that they’re gonna be rated as average … over time, that’s exactly what they’re gonna get,” Wade said. “It defies all good sense of leadership.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Villano said while there is no denying that the park service’s normal system of performance reviews is flawed, these changes have not been thought out or systematic, and she’s worried that low scores could be used to justify future layoffs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In fact, according to a \u003ca href=\"https://www.govexec.com/management/2025/11/agency-layoff-rules-get-overhaul-under-nearly-finalized-trump-administration-proposal/409706/\">report \u003c/a>from \u003cem>Government Executive\u003c/em>, the U.S. Office of Personnel Management is set to propose new formulas for federal layoffs that would base decisions on the weighted sum of their three most recent performance ratings — rather than their time of service at the agency.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In addition to the ethical and legal questions, the anonymous NPS employee and NFFE union representative said the Yosemite wage and performance review changes create a major morale issue for current workers, and are likely to deter prospective ones, too.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I can’t tell you how many people are looking for jobs actively outside the park,” they said. “It’s just not a winning deal right now to come work for the National Park Service, and that’s a sad thing to say about one of our most beloved institutions.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12066876\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12066876\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251028-YosemiteShutdown-123-BL_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251028-YosemiteShutdown-123-BL_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251028-YosemiteShutdown-123-BL_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251028-YosemiteShutdown-123-BL_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A park ranger holds a map at the entrance to Yosemite National Park in the Sierra Nevada Mountains on Oct. 28, 2025. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Wade agreed, saying that even with the hiring freeze now lifted, the loss of a quarter of permanent positions at the NPS since January 2025 – in addition to reduced numbers of applicants to federal jobs and continued restrictions on hiring – he’s most worried about a coming “experience gap” at parks, and what that would mean for the future of these treasured landmarks..\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“People are being asked to do more with less,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In response to the changes, Villano said park leaders and employees are organizing — the most coordination she’s seen since the February 2025 mass layoffs dubbed the “\u003ca href=\"https://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/experience/national-parks/2025/02/25/national-park-service-layoffs-what-to-know/80234977007/\">Valentine’s Day massacre\u003c/a>.” She said some have even planned to unilaterally give out the same exact score to everyone so as not to deflate some and not others’ reviews.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“They took it a step too far this time by asking by asking us to turn on each other and tell each other that we’re doing bad work when day in and day out we know how deeply untrue that is,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Resistance Rangers, she said, is offering information and resources on how to respond, including instructions to help supervisors and employees create a paper trail of how their ratings may be changing and what options they may have, including refusing to sign new performance reviews.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“My message to rangers right now is that even just showing up to work when every single day you’re being told that your work doesn’t matter, and the agency you work for is slowly disintegrating around you — that in and of itself is heroic,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There is a community of rangers who are fighting together to make sure that your work doesn’t go unappreciated and unrewarded.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "Wage cuts announced for Yosemite National Park employees come as reported new performance metrics raise ethical alarms for National Park Service leaders and employees.\r\n",
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"headline": "‘A Morale Bomb’: National Park Workers Face Wage Cuts and 'Dubiously Legal' Review System",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>As National Park Service leaders grapple with\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12054083/yosemite-sequoia-and-kings-canyon-workers-unionize-amid-fears-of-further-firings\"> reduced staffing\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12065920/trump-orders-dei-out-of-national-park-bookstores\">restrictive, ideological policies\u003c/a>, maintenance workers at Yosemite National Park are now also facing a pay cut in 2026 that could reduce hourly wages by as much as $3.50 for some positions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That’s after the National Park Service told its staff that pay for newly hired or promoted employees will now be based on rates for the Fresno area, instead of Stockton, as they have been \u003ca href=\"https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2009/05/13/E9-11193/prevailing-rate-systems-redefinition-of-the-fresno-and-stockton-ca-appropriated-fund-federal-wage\">for the last 16 years\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The National Federation of Federal Employees’ Local 465, which represents NPS employees at five national parks, including Yosemite, put out a press release this week saying workers were told of the wage change in late November.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The move comes as park service leaders nationwide say they’re being told to make changes to employee reviews and performance ratings that they worry could influence future potential layoffs they fear are coming in the near future.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Former national park employee Elizabeth Villano, a spokesperson for advocacy group Resistance Rangers, called the changes to the review process a “morale bomb” for workers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“They’re going to continue to push out qualified, passionate civil servants from their job,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12060933\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-12060933 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/NationalParkServiceGetty.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1335\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/NationalParkServiceGetty.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/NationalParkServiceGetty-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/NationalParkServiceGetty-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A National Park Service employee at Yosemite National Park, California, on March 1, 2025. \u003ccite>(Laure Andrillon/AFP via Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Any wage-grade employee, like maintenance workers for park facilities and trails, hired, promoted or changing positions as of Jan. 1, 2026, will have their pay changed — “a reduction,” the NFFE release said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One NPS employee who is also a NFFE union representative called the change a “slap in the face” for the hundreds of employees affected, many of whom commute one or even two hours into work and face steep costs of living in and around the Yosemite area. KQED has agreed not to publish the names of employees because they fear retribution.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>National parks are still suffering from a \u003ca href=\"https://www.npca.org/articles/9551-staffing-crisis-at-national-parks-reaches-breaking-point-new-data-shows-24\">24% reduction\u003c/a> in their workforce. While the Department of the Interior has technically \u003ca href=\"https://www.doi.gov/document-library/human-resources-policy/memo-2025-lifting-may-2-2025-personnel-actions-freeze\">lifted\u003c/a> its hiring freeze, the NFFE is continuing to raise concerns about the Trump administration’s ongoing \u003ca href=\"https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/02/implementing-the-presidents-department-of-government-efficiency-cost-efficiency-initiative/\">policies\u003c/a> promoting government efficiency, which have instructed parks to reduce their workforces.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The loss in pay and the pressure to fill gaps will likely result in added stress to the Yosemite [wage-grade] workers, lower retention, fewer opportunities for workers to detail into different positions to gain career experience, and slower overall park operations,” the release states.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In an email to KQED, a spokesperson for the Department of the Interior, which oversees the National Park Service, said that the U.S. Office of Personnel Management “created new locality areas for the Federal Wage System effective October 1,” which meant that “most wage system employees will see a pay increase under the new structure.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“A small number of locations, including Yosemite, will see a decrease based on the updated OPM tables,” said the DOI spokesperson. “We are coordinating with the Office of Human Capital to understand the impacts and to identify options that may help affected employees.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Regarding reviews within the parks system, the DOI said that “There is no percentage cap on [Employee Performance Appraisal Plan] ratings,” and that “consistent with OPM’s government-wide performance management guidance, we are working to normalize ratings across the agency. The goal of this effort is to ensure fair, consistent performance evaluations across all of our parks and programs.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Reviews an ‘insult to injury’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Currently underway at parks nationwide is a wider discussion about employee performance plans, whose drafting and implementation have been delayed all year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>According to several national park employees from across the country, NPS leadership has instructed them to abide by a new “quota” or “cap” on high performance ratings — currently issued on a one-to-five scale. Under the revised system, the employees say they’ve been told, only around 30% of employees appear to be allowed to get high ratings. Different parks have been given different numbers over the past week, Villano said, only adding to the confusion.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11970738\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11970738\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/12/GettyImages-1846156476-scaled-e1759449061670.jpg\" alt=\"state parks\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A welcome sign is seen at the Yosemite National Park on Dec. 13, 2023. \u003ccite>(Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu via Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The NPS employees say this mandate has essentially forced park leaders to artificially deflate their employees’ performance reviews — a move Villano said is akin to “asking employees and supervisors to lie.” She also called the action “dubiously legal” and potentially in violation of the \u003ca href=\"https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-5/chapter-I/subchapter-B/part-430/subpart-B/section-430.208\">federal code\u003c/a> that outlines how performance ratings must occur.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“That’s them taking a dagger into the backs of everyone who’s been working overtime, crushing themselves just to keep the parks open, safe, accessible and the resources protected,” Villano said. “It feels like an insult to injury.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Park superintendents, she said, were “told explicitly that the management of their park, no matter how above and beyond they were going, was a three, except for if they were managing more than one park, then they could maybe get a four,” Villano said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One park superintendent, who also asked to remain anonymous for fear of retaliation or firing, said by the time they got the new instructions, they had already sent out their initial performance reviews. Now, they’re being told to rescind and resubmit them because they didn’t conform to the new requirements, they said.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>“Employees across the parks know what they would have gotten and are now going to get something different,” the superintendent said. “All of the park superintendents are having to carry the liability for this.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Also concerning is the potential “self-fulfilling prophecy” of giving mid-tier grades to most employees, said Bill Wade, executive director of the Association of National Park Rangers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If they know ahead of time that they’re gonna be rated as average … over time, that’s exactly what they’re gonna get,” Wade said. “It defies all good sense of leadership.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Villano said while there is no denying that the park service’s normal system of performance reviews is flawed, these changes have not been thought out or systematic, and she’s worried that low scores could be used to justify future layoffs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In fact, according to a \u003ca href=\"https://www.govexec.com/management/2025/11/agency-layoff-rules-get-overhaul-under-nearly-finalized-trump-administration-proposal/409706/\">report \u003c/a>from \u003cem>Government Executive\u003c/em>, the U.S. Office of Personnel Management is set to propose new formulas for federal layoffs that would base decisions on the weighted sum of their three most recent performance ratings — rather than their time of service at the agency.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In addition to the ethical and legal questions, the anonymous NPS employee and NFFE union representative said the Yosemite wage and performance review changes create a major morale issue for current workers, and are likely to deter prospective ones, too.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I can’t tell you how many people are looking for jobs actively outside the park,” they said. “It’s just not a winning deal right now to come work for the National Park Service, and that’s a sad thing to say about one of our most beloved institutions.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12066876\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12066876\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251028-YosemiteShutdown-123-BL_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251028-YosemiteShutdown-123-BL_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251028-YosemiteShutdown-123-BL_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251028-YosemiteShutdown-123-BL_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A park ranger holds a map at the entrance to Yosemite National Park in the Sierra Nevada Mountains on Oct. 28, 2025. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Wade agreed, saying that even with the hiring freeze now lifted, the loss of a quarter of permanent positions at the NPS since January 2025 – in addition to reduced numbers of applicants to federal jobs and continued restrictions on hiring – he’s most worried about a coming “experience gap” at parks, and what that would mean for the future of these treasured landmarks..\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“People are being asked to do more with less,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In response to the changes, Villano said park leaders and employees are organizing — the most coordination she’s seen since the February 2025 mass layoffs dubbed the “\u003ca href=\"https://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/experience/national-parks/2025/02/25/national-park-service-layoffs-what-to-know/80234977007/\">Valentine’s Day massacre\u003c/a>.” She said some have even planned to unilaterally give out the same exact score to everyone so as not to deflate some and not others’ reviews.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“They took it a step too far this time by asking by asking us to turn on each other and tell each other that we’re doing bad work when day in and day out we know how deeply untrue that is,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Resistance Rangers, she said, is offering information and resources on how to respond, including instructions to help supervisors and employees create a paper trail of how their ratings may be changing and what options they may have, including refusing to sign new performance reviews.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“My message to rangers right now is that even just showing up to work when every single day you’re being told that your work doesn’t matter, and the agency you work for is slowly disintegrating around you — that in and of itself is heroic,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There is a community of rangers who are fighting together to make sure that your work doesn’t go unappreciated and unrewarded.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"slug": "at-yosemite-youd-barely-know-a-shutdown-was-happening-why-advocates-say-that-matters",
"title": "At Yosemite, You’d Barely Know a Shutdown Was Happening. Why Advocates Say That Matters",
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"headTitle": "At Yosemite, You’d Barely Know a Shutdown Was Happening. Why Advocates Say That Matters | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cp>Before they visited Yosemite National Park this week, Susan Bennett and Katie Cook had heard all sorts of stories about a kind of chaos permeating the park during the government shutdown. \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12060120/what-is-the-shutdown-doing-to-yosemite\">People squatting in others’ campgrounds\u003c/a>. Hikers \u003ca href=\"https://www.backpacker.com/news-and-events/government-shutdown-brings-waves-of-illegal-activity-to-yosemite-national-park/\">ascending Half Dome without a permit\u003c/a>. Even \u003ca href=\"https://x.com/YosemiteNPS/status/1984285545648812479\">illegal BASE jumping\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Standing outside the Yosemite Valley Lodge — one of the park’s two hotels, still fully operational during the shutdown — sisters-in-law Bennett and Cook, visiting from Monterey and North Lake Tahoe respectively, told me they’d even considered canceling their much-anticipated trip. “We didn’t want to be part of the problem,” Cook said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But having heard from a friend that at least Yosemite’s bathrooms were open, the pair made the trek. And when they arrived in the park, they were far from disappointed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In addition to the “gorgeous” fall foliage at its peak and flowing waterfalls surging due to recent storms, Bennett said they saw little sign of the chaotic scenes they had imagined.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I knew \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12058508/yes-yosemite-is-open-during-the-shutdown-but-with-lots-of-changes-for-visitors\">there wouldn’t be anybody at the main gate\u003c/a>, but we had a ranger at the campground, so it’s all good,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>During the month-long government shutdown, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12058508/yes-yosemite-is-open-during-the-shutdown-but-with-lots-of-changes-for-visitors\">Yosemite has remained open\u003c/a>, but with a drastically reduced federal workforce. Only staff deemed “essential” are working in the park, and for the most part, they’re focused on law enforcement, search-and-rescue and maintenance.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12062213\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12062213\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251027-YOSEMITESHUTDOWN-31-BL_QED-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251027-YOSEMITESHUTDOWN-31-BL_QED-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251027-YOSEMITESHUTDOWN-31-BL_QED-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251027-YOSEMITESHUTDOWN-31-BL_QED-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Visitors photograph El Capitan, a granite wall popular with rock climbers, at Yosemite National Park in the Sierra Nevada Mountains on Oct. 27, 2025. The park remains open despite the federal government shutdown, but is operating with reduced staffing after more than half of its workforce was furloughed. It draws millions of visitors each year to its granite cliffs, waterfalls, and ancient sequoia groves. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>As Bennett and Cook saw, no rangers are posted at entrances to collect fees, give out maps or help tourists plan their itineraries.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>National Park Service staffers dedicated to research or conservation are currently furloughed, joining the 64% of national NPS staff who are not working during the shutdown.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And in the absence of so many federal workers, the majority of the “park staff” Yosemite tourists will encounter during the shutdown actually work for private businesses or organizations that were already present in the park before the shutdown — and have now assumed almost all visitor-facing duties.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12062210\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12062210\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251027-YOSEMITESHUTDOWN-06-BL_QED-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251027-YOSEMITESHUTDOWN-06-BL_QED-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251027-YOSEMITESHUTDOWN-06-BL_QED-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251027-YOSEMITESHUTDOWN-06-BL_QED-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Empty fee booths at the entrance to Yosemite National Park in the Sierra Nevada Mountains on Oct. 27, 2025. The park remains open despite the federal government shutdown, but is operating with reduced staffing after more than half of its workforce was furloughed. It draws millions of visitors each year to its granite cliffs, waterfalls, and ancient sequoia groves. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>But underneath the general air of normalcy, a crisis is looming, say a coalition of advocacy groups and former parks leaders who have repeatedly \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12058137/government-shutdown-2025-national-parks-planning-memo\">called to close the national parks at this time.\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Seemingly small transgressions like the ones Yosemite staff and visitors report are going to have a cumulative effect, they warn.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Our parks don’t run themselves,” wrote the coalition in a \u003ca href=\"https://protectnps.org/2025/10/23/protect-our-parks-former-nps-employees-warn-of-escalating-dangers-during-shutdown/\">letter last week\u003c/a> to Interior Secretary Doug Burgum.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Business as usual?\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>At \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12058592/alcatraz-island-is-open-again-after-several-false-starts\">Alcatraz Island\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12061286/muir-woods-reopens-amid-government-shutdown-temporarily\">Muir Woods National Monument\u003c/a>, private companies and nonprofits that operate in the parks have outright donated money to keep their doors open during the shutdown, as permitted by \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12058137/government-shutdown-2025-national-parks-planning-memo\">the NPS shutdown contingency plan. \u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This is happening at Yosemite, too. In an email to KQED, the National Park Service confirmed that the nonprofit Yosemite Conservancy, which has been keeping the park’s Welcome Center and The Depot at Mariposa Grove open, is “working with the [NPS] to establish short-term agreements with donations to help maintain operations during the lapse in appropriations.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>My own experience visiting Yosemite this week reflected what I was hearing from the tourists I met there —- that operations within the park during the shutdown seemed very much like business as usual.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12062211\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1999px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12062211\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251027-YOSEMITESHUTDOWN-18-BL_QED-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1999\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251027-YOSEMITESHUTDOWN-18-BL_QED-KQED.jpg 1999w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251027-YOSEMITESHUTDOWN-18-BL_QED-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251027-YOSEMITESHUTDOWN-18-BL_QED-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1999px) 100vw, 1999px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Visitors look at a welcome at the entrance to Yosemite National Park in the Sierra Nevada Mountains on Oct. 27, 2025. The park remains open despite the federal government shutdown, but is operating with reduced staffing after more than half of its workforce was furloughed. It draws millions of visitors each year to its granite cliffs, waterfalls, and ancient sequoia groves. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>To a casual observer, the only clue that anything might be different was those unstaffed entry gates, normally humming with activity, which drivers are now blowing right through, as they can no longer pick up park maps and expert ranger advice for their trip.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And the Yosemite Valley Welcome Center, which was initially closed at the start of the shutdown, has been reopened to the public. When I visited, the center was abuzz with tourists buying merchandise and lining up to get park information, just like any other day outside of a full federal shutdown — albeit with no rangers at their normal stations, leading to slightly longer lines than usual, according to one Conservancy staffer.[aside postID=news_12061908 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/YosemiteGetty-1.jpg']Yosemite’s crowds seemed a little larger than what I’d previously observed for this time of year, and parking at the base of El Capitan — where visitors can watch climbers scaling the iconic rock face —- was more scarce than usual.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But elsewhere, I saw several park rangers roaming on foot and in cars, all working without pay during the shutdown.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Maintenance staff could be seen at work, and there was even someone collecting campground fees and distributing maps at the Big Oak Flat entrance to the park.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And those bathrooms in Yosemite Valley — \u003ca href=\"https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/dec/31/national-parks-shutdown-impact-joshua-tree-yosemite-yellowstone\">a notorious casualty of previous NPS shutdowns\u003c/a> — were generally clean, with no sign of piled-up trash.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This shutdown, compared to others, is much more smooth,” said William Fontana Sr., an Aramark employee who has been giving tours in the park for 40 years — and who attributed what he was seeing to the fact that law enforcement rangers and essential facilities staff \u003cem>are \u003c/em>still working in Yosemite.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12062223\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1999px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12062223\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251028-YOSEMITESHUTDOWN-93-BL_QED-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1999\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251028-YOSEMITESHUTDOWN-93-BL_QED-KQED.jpg 1999w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251028-YOSEMITESHUTDOWN-93-BL_QED-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251028-YOSEMITESHUTDOWN-93-BL_QED-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1999px) 100vw, 1999px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Tour guide William Fontana points visitors to climbers on El Capitan during a tour of the Yosemite Valley in Yosemite National Park in the Sierra Nevada Mountains on Oct. 28, 2025. The park remains open despite the federal government shutdown, but is operating with reduced staffing after more than half of its workforce was furloughed. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>As a non-federal worker, Fontana Sr. usually works alongside NPS rangers in the park, supplementing their numbers and knowledge to show visitors around. But during the shutdown, it’s just him and his Aramark colleagues to guide tourists.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I expected to have overcrowded conditions and an absolute zoo here, but it has not happened,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The public seem to be very respectful in Yosemite, and understand that if they abuse the park, they could lose the opportunity to come during the shutdown.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>‘Protect the park’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Fontana Sr. said he had nonetheless seen “a little more” aggressive driving and \u003ca href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/21/travel/yosemite-shutdown-base-jumping.html\">witnessed BASE jumpers\u003c/a> leap off El Capitan this month.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I immediately called park dispatch, and I believe they were apprehended,” he said. “We all work together to protect the park.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>George Hargis, a volunteer for the advocacy group \u003ca href=\"https://www.baseaccess.org/\">BASE Access\u003c/a>, disputes the now-widespread claim that the extreme sport has been taking place more often in Yosemite during the shutdown, telling KQED by email, “I can very confidently state that the BASE jumping in the National Parks has not increased during the shut down,” and that “one or two jumps were posted online and that really began the narrative that BASE jumpers are taking advantage of the shutdown.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12062218\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12062218\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251027-YOSEMITESHUTDOWN-47-BL_QED-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251027-YOSEMITESHUTDOWN-47-BL_QED-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251027-YOSEMITESHUTDOWN-47-BL_QED-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251027-YOSEMITESHUTDOWN-47-BL_QED-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Yosemite Conservancy staff answer questions at the Welcome Center at Yosemite National Park in the Sierra Nevada Mountains on Oct. 27, 2025. The park remains open despite the federal government shutdown, but is operating with reduced staffing after more than half of its workforce was furloughed. It draws millions of visitors each year to its granite cliffs, waterfalls, and ancient sequoia groves. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>U.S Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum has also pushed back against \u003ca href=\"https://www.eenews.net/articles/burgum-pans-reports-of-illegal-cliff-jumping-in-yosemite/\">what he called “false claims” from “grifters”\u003c/a> about conditions in Yosemite during the shutdown. \u003ca href=\"https://x.com/SecretaryBurgum/status/1978266696893735094\">Burgum claimed on social media \u003c/a>that “Contrary to recent reports, the park remains fully staffed to ensure visitor safety and protect natural resources” and that “unauthorized camping, squatting and illegal activities like BASE jumping are being addressed with firm, appropriate law enforcement action.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But Yosemite sprawls across 1,200 square miles, much of it wilderness territory. So even though enforcement rangers are on duty, it’s not possible to keep track of every visitor’s activity — even outside of a shutdown, but especially while research- and education-focused rangers, often found on trails, are missing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>John DeGrazio, owner of YExplore, which runs private tours in the park, agreed that he hasn’t seen as much unruly behavior or “abuse” this shutdown as during past ones. But he said he has seen more people than usual sleeping in their cars in the park and bringing their dogs on unpaved trails, both of which are not allowed in Yosemite.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12062215\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12062215\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251027-YOSEMITESHUTDOWN-37-BL_QED-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251027-YOSEMITESHUTDOWN-37-BL_QED-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251027-YOSEMITESHUTDOWN-37-BL_QED-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251027-YOSEMITESHUTDOWN-37-BL_QED-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">John DeGrazio, owner of YExplore, a hiking tour company, sits outside the Yosemite Valley Lodge at Yosemite National Park in the Sierra Nevada Mountains on Oct. 27, 2025. The park remains open despite the federal government shutdown, but is operating with reduced staffing after more than half of its workforce was furloughed. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>He even met a couple last week on their honeymoon who told him they wanted to thank President Donald Trump for the opportunity to camp in Yosemite for free, said DeGrazio\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There are people who know how to take advantage of the system,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As big wall climber Cadence Brown sat in El Capitan Meadow watching his friends scale “The Nose,” he said he, too, had noticed the park seemed busier than usual for fall.[aside postID=news_12060120 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/YosemiteGetty3.jpg']At night, he said, El Cap’s 3,000 feet of sheer granite has looked far more illuminated with climbers’ headlamps.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Beyond experiencing the same difficulties finding parking I did, Brown said the only sign things might be different at Yosemite right now was the visitors he witnessed traipsing off-trail in the park’s meadows, seemingly emboldened by the lack of rangers to stop them. But for him, search-and-rescue crews still being fully active was key. “So as long as they’re here, we’re stoked,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While DeGrazio, too, is grateful the park is still open to keep his tours and his business running, he said he doesn’t know what the future holds.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I think there’s always a question of allowing access versus having that access being abused,” he said. “There’s going to be that concern of: How much abuse is actually happening long-term?”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>‘No long-term planning’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Mark Rose, Sierra Nevada program manager for the National Parks Conservation Association, said his visit to the park earlier this month only confirmed his worries.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Really small things like visitors trampling through meadows — that builds up more and more over time,” he said. “Even if 99% of folks visiting the park right now are being responsible and doing what they’re supposed to, all it takes is that 1% of visitors who see this as being this free-for-all.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Like the coalition of former park leaders and advocates, Rose also sounded an alarm about the lack of conservation and biological data being collected within the park while federal scientists working here are furloughed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>All kinds of behind-the-scenes work that goes unseen by visitors is completely on pause — work that was already being impacted by an estimated \u003ca href=\"https://www.npca.org/articles/9551-staffing-crisis-at-national-parks-reaches-breaking-point-new-data-shows-24\">24% reduction\u003c/a> in NPS staff since Trump’s inauguration in January.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12062216\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12062216\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251027-YOSEMITESHUTDOWN-42-BL_QED-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251027-YOSEMITESHUTDOWN-42-BL_QED-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251027-YOSEMITESHUTDOWN-42-BL_QED-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251027-YOSEMITESHUTDOWN-42-BL_QED-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A park ranger empties the garbage bins near the Welcome Center at Yosemite National Park in the Sierra Nevada Mountains on Oct. 27, 2025. The park remains open despite the federal government shutdown, but is operating with reduced staffing after more than half of its workforce was furloughed. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Right now, Yosemite is operating without a Chief of Resources, Rose said, a crucial role that heads up all of the park’s science and restoration work around its natural resources. And with Trump \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12060911/new-trump-layoffs-could-put-hundreds-more-national-park-service-employees-on-the-chopping-block\">threatening to fire furloughed workers\u003c/a> after the shutdown ends, the staffing crisis will only deepen, he warned.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“They’ve let go so many of their scientists and [natural] resource and cultural resource staff,” he said. “There’s no long-term planning being done; all the science that was happening has mostly just been put on pause and/or completely cut.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There’s a lot that’s piling up now that the government’s shut down that they’re going to have to take care of,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Rose also expressed concern that the pot of money currently being used to pay for basic operations and materials like fuel and cleaning supplies — which is keeping the visitor experience feeling so comparatively smooth during the shutdown— may even be being used illegally.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12062224\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1999px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12062224\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251028-YOSEMITESHUTDOWN-112-BL_QED-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1999\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251028-YOSEMITESHUTDOWN-112-BL_QED-KQED.jpg 1999w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251028-YOSEMITESHUTDOWN-112-BL_QED-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251028-YOSEMITESHUTDOWN-112-BL_QED-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1999px) 100vw, 1999px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A person fishes in the Yosemite Valley in Yosemite National Park in the Sierra Nevada Mountains on Oct. 28, 2025. The park remains open despite the federal government shutdown, but is operating with reduced staffing after more than half of its workforce was furloughed. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>After the last shutdown, the \u003ca href=\"https://wildlife.org/interior-fee-use-during-shutdown-was-against-the-law-gao-says/\">Government Accountability Office determined\u003c/a> that these fee dollars are supposed to go toward park projects, while Congress should fund the park’s general operations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And at some point, with no fees being collected at entrance gates, it’s going to run out. “We’re draining those accounts,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When I told Rose that I had seen much of what he did at Yosemite — meaning, not much on the surface — he warned that it’s really too soon to tell.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We don’t know to what degree the backcountry, other areas of the park, might be impacted — because that’s just not being monitored and reported out on by the park service,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>‘Eyes on the horizon’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The ripple effect from the shutdown will be felt for generations to come, warns Jesse Chakrin, executive director of the Fund for People in Parks.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The moment Chakrin learned I’d just returned from visiting Yosemite, he didn’t hold back about his thoughts on the current situation during the shutdown, employing phrases like “facade management” and “veneer.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“These impacts, it’s a lagging indicator,” he said. “It’s not the canary in the coal mine. When we notice the impact, it’s probably too late.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12062214\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12062214\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251027-YOSEMITESHUTDOWN-36-BL_QED-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251027-YOSEMITESHUTDOWN-36-BL_QED-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251027-YOSEMITESHUTDOWN-36-BL_QED-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251027-YOSEMITESHUTDOWN-36-BL_QED-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Mary-Michal Rawling, a public affairs manager for YARTS, stands near a bus stop at the Yosemite Valley Lodge at Yosemite National Park in the Sierra Nevada Mountains on Oct. 27, 2025. The park remains open despite the federal government shutdown, but is operating with reduced staffing after more than half of its workforce was furloughed. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Chakrin said he isn’t just worried that \u003ca href=\"https://www.outsideonline.com/adventure-travel/national-parks/trump-national-parks-yosemite/\">the Trump administration’s razor-sharp focus on continuing to allow parks to generate revenue\u003c/a> harms park resources today and tomorrow.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He’s also deeply concerned by the fact that critical operations like law enforcement, cleanliness and some visitor-facing services being maintained — in large part thanks to nonprofit dollars from the Yosemite Conservancy — could also be \u003ca href=\"https://subscriber.politicopro.com/article/eenews/2025/10/03/burgum-touts-chance-to-slash-government-amid-shutdown-00593040\">used as an argument to even further cut the staffing and budgets of national parks\u003c/a>, and turn them over to further privatization.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s a precedent that I think has some danger in it,” he said. “I think it opens the door for this idea that maybe a passable experience is possible through privately run, privately funded, ‘national’ parks.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This government seems very willing to privatize the things that are in the commons,” warned Chakrin.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Don Neubacher, retired Yosemite superintendent, said while he, too, gives credit to nonprofits for their work to fill gaps in funding, “parks take sustained money over time,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12062221\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12062221\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251028-YOSEMITESHUTDOWN-61-BL_QED-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251028-YOSEMITESHUTDOWN-61-BL_QED-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251028-YOSEMITESHUTDOWN-61-BL_QED-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251028-YOSEMITESHUTDOWN-61-BL_QED-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Visitors stand at Tunnel View overlook in Yosemite National Park in the Sierra Nevada Mountains on Oct. 28, 2025. The park remains open despite the federal government shutdown, but is operating with reduced staffing after more than half of its workforce was furloughed. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“There is very little evidence that nonprofits and these private groups can fund these parks in the long term,” he said, noting \u003ca href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/01/us/yosemite-job-cuts-trump.html\">the $30 million\u003c/a> yearly allocated to Yosemite from Congress. “That’s a tall order to have any nonprofit raise that kind of money and continue to manage Yosemite the way it should be.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>What visitors enjoying the park in its limited state today need to understand, Chakrin said, is that it’s the oftentimes invisible work of currently furloughed federal workers that makes parks like Yosemite so treasured — and fulfills their mission to leave these natural areas “\u003ca href=\"https://www.nps.gov/grba/learn/management/organic-act-of-1916.htm\">unimpaired for the enjoyment of future generations\u003c/a>.” The kind of things that go beyond a well-run Yosemite Valley tour, or a functioning bookstore.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“You’re making decadal policy with a blindfold on,” said Chakrin. “We need people with their eyes on the horizon.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We need the American public to understand what’s happening to their treasures,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Before they visited Yosemite National Park this week, Susan Bennett and Katie Cook had heard all sorts of stories about a kind of chaos permeating the park during the government shutdown. \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12060120/what-is-the-shutdown-doing-to-yosemite\">People squatting in others’ campgrounds\u003c/a>. Hikers \u003ca href=\"https://www.backpacker.com/news-and-events/government-shutdown-brings-waves-of-illegal-activity-to-yosemite-national-park/\">ascending Half Dome without a permit\u003c/a>. Even \u003ca href=\"https://x.com/YosemiteNPS/status/1984285545648812479\">illegal BASE jumping\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Standing outside the Yosemite Valley Lodge — one of the park’s two hotels, still fully operational during the shutdown — sisters-in-law Bennett and Cook, visiting from Monterey and North Lake Tahoe respectively, told me they’d even considered canceling their much-anticipated trip. “We didn’t want to be part of the problem,” Cook said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But having heard from a friend that at least Yosemite’s bathrooms were open, the pair made the trek. And when they arrived in the park, they were far from disappointed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In addition to the “gorgeous” fall foliage at its peak and flowing waterfalls surging due to recent storms, Bennett said they saw little sign of the chaotic scenes they had imagined.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I knew \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12058508/yes-yosemite-is-open-during-the-shutdown-but-with-lots-of-changes-for-visitors\">there wouldn’t be anybody at the main gate\u003c/a>, but we had a ranger at the campground, so it’s all good,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>During the month-long government shutdown, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12058508/yes-yosemite-is-open-during-the-shutdown-but-with-lots-of-changes-for-visitors\">Yosemite has remained open\u003c/a>, but with a drastically reduced federal workforce. Only staff deemed “essential” are working in the park, and for the most part, they’re focused on law enforcement, search-and-rescue and maintenance.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12062213\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12062213\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251027-YOSEMITESHUTDOWN-31-BL_QED-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251027-YOSEMITESHUTDOWN-31-BL_QED-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251027-YOSEMITESHUTDOWN-31-BL_QED-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251027-YOSEMITESHUTDOWN-31-BL_QED-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Visitors photograph El Capitan, a granite wall popular with rock climbers, at Yosemite National Park in the Sierra Nevada Mountains on Oct. 27, 2025. The park remains open despite the federal government shutdown, but is operating with reduced staffing after more than half of its workforce was furloughed. It draws millions of visitors each year to its granite cliffs, waterfalls, and ancient sequoia groves. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>As Bennett and Cook saw, no rangers are posted at entrances to collect fees, give out maps or help tourists plan their itineraries.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>National Park Service staffers dedicated to research or conservation are currently furloughed, joining the 64% of national NPS staff who are not working during the shutdown.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And in the absence of so many federal workers, the majority of the “park staff” Yosemite tourists will encounter during the shutdown actually work for private businesses or organizations that were already present in the park before the shutdown — and have now assumed almost all visitor-facing duties.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12062210\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12062210\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251027-YOSEMITESHUTDOWN-06-BL_QED-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251027-YOSEMITESHUTDOWN-06-BL_QED-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251027-YOSEMITESHUTDOWN-06-BL_QED-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251027-YOSEMITESHUTDOWN-06-BL_QED-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Empty fee booths at the entrance to Yosemite National Park in the Sierra Nevada Mountains on Oct. 27, 2025. The park remains open despite the federal government shutdown, but is operating with reduced staffing after more than half of its workforce was furloughed. It draws millions of visitors each year to its granite cliffs, waterfalls, and ancient sequoia groves. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>But underneath the general air of normalcy, a crisis is looming, say a coalition of advocacy groups and former parks leaders who have repeatedly \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12058137/government-shutdown-2025-national-parks-planning-memo\">called to close the national parks at this time.\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Seemingly small transgressions like the ones Yosemite staff and visitors report are going to have a cumulative effect, they warn.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Our parks don’t run themselves,” wrote the coalition in a \u003ca href=\"https://protectnps.org/2025/10/23/protect-our-parks-former-nps-employees-warn-of-escalating-dangers-during-shutdown/\">letter last week\u003c/a> to Interior Secretary Doug Burgum.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Business as usual?\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>At \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12058592/alcatraz-island-is-open-again-after-several-false-starts\">Alcatraz Island\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12061286/muir-woods-reopens-amid-government-shutdown-temporarily\">Muir Woods National Monument\u003c/a>, private companies and nonprofits that operate in the parks have outright donated money to keep their doors open during the shutdown, as permitted by \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12058137/government-shutdown-2025-national-parks-planning-memo\">the NPS shutdown contingency plan. \u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This is happening at Yosemite, too. In an email to KQED, the National Park Service confirmed that the nonprofit Yosemite Conservancy, which has been keeping the park’s Welcome Center and The Depot at Mariposa Grove open, is “working with the [NPS] to establish short-term agreements with donations to help maintain operations during the lapse in appropriations.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>My own experience visiting Yosemite this week reflected what I was hearing from the tourists I met there —- that operations within the park during the shutdown seemed very much like business as usual.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12062211\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1999px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12062211\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251027-YOSEMITESHUTDOWN-18-BL_QED-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1999\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251027-YOSEMITESHUTDOWN-18-BL_QED-KQED.jpg 1999w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251027-YOSEMITESHUTDOWN-18-BL_QED-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251027-YOSEMITESHUTDOWN-18-BL_QED-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1999px) 100vw, 1999px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Visitors look at a welcome at the entrance to Yosemite National Park in the Sierra Nevada Mountains on Oct. 27, 2025. The park remains open despite the federal government shutdown, but is operating with reduced staffing after more than half of its workforce was furloughed. It draws millions of visitors each year to its granite cliffs, waterfalls, and ancient sequoia groves. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>To a casual observer, the only clue that anything might be different was those unstaffed entry gates, normally humming with activity, which drivers are now blowing right through, as they can no longer pick up park maps and expert ranger advice for their trip.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And the Yosemite Valley Welcome Center, which was initially closed at the start of the shutdown, has been reopened to the public. When I visited, the center was abuzz with tourists buying merchandise and lining up to get park information, just like any other day outside of a full federal shutdown — albeit with no rangers at their normal stations, leading to slightly longer lines than usual, according to one Conservancy staffer.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Yosemite’s crowds seemed a little larger than what I’d previously observed for this time of year, and parking at the base of El Capitan — where visitors can watch climbers scaling the iconic rock face —- was more scarce than usual.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But elsewhere, I saw several park rangers roaming on foot and in cars, all working without pay during the shutdown.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Maintenance staff could be seen at work, and there was even someone collecting campground fees and distributing maps at the Big Oak Flat entrance to the park.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And those bathrooms in Yosemite Valley — \u003ca href=\"https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/dec/31/national-parks-shutdown-impact-joshua-tree-yosemite-yellowstone\">a notorious casualty of previous NPS shutdowns\u003c/a> — were generally clean, with no sign of piled-up trash.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This shutdown, compared to others, is much more smooth,” said William Fontana Sr., an Aramark employee who has been giving tours in the park for 40 years — and who attributed what he was seeing to the fact that law enforcement rangers and essential facilities staff \u003cem>are \u003c/em>still working in Yosemite.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12062223\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1999px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12062223\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251028-YOSEMITESHUTDOWN-93-BL_QED-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1999\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251028-YOSEMITESHUTDOWN-93-BL_QED-KQED.jpg 1999w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251028-YOSEMITESHUTDOWN-93-BL_QED-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251028-YOSEMITESHUTDOWN-93-BL_QED-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1999px) 100vw, 1999px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Tour guide William Fontana points visitors to climbers on El Capitan during a tour of the Yosemite Valley in Yosemite National Park in the Sierra Nevada Mountains on Oct. 28, 2025. The park remains open despite the federal government shutdown, but is operating with reduced staffing after more than half of its workforce was furloughed. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>As a non-federal worker, Fontana Sr. usually works alongside NPS rangers in the park, supplementing their numbers and knowledge to show visitors around. But during the shutdown, it’s just him and his Aramark colleagues to guide tourists.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I expected to have overcrowded conditions and an absolute zoo here, but it has not happened,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The public seem to be very respectful in Yosemite, and understand that if they abuse the park, they could lose the opportunity to come during the shutdown.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>‘Protect the park’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Fontana Sr. said he had nonetheless seen “a little more” aggressive driving and \u003ca href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/21/travel/yosemite-shutdown-base-jumping.html\">witnessed BASE jumpers\u003c/a> leap off El Capitan this month.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I immediately called park dispatch, and I believe they were apprehended,” he said. “We all work together to protect the park.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>George Hargis, a volunteer for the advocacy group \u003ca href=\"https://www.baseaccess.org/\">BASE Access\u003c/a>, disputes the now-widespread claim that the extreme sport has been taking place more often in Yosemite during the shutdown, telling KQED by email, “I can very confidently state that the BASE jumping in the National Parks has not increased during the shut down,” and that “one or two jumps were posted online and that really began the narrative that BASE jumpers are taking advantage of the shutdown.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12062218\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12062218\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251027-YOSEMITESHUTDOWN-47-BL_QED-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251027-YOSEMITESHUTDOWN-47-BL_QED-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251027-YOSEMITESHUTDOWN-47-BL_QED-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251027-YOSEMITESHUTDOWN-47-BL_QED-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Yosemite Conservancy staff answer questions at the Welcome Center at Yosemite National Park in the Sierra Nevada Mountains on Oct. 27, 2025. The park remains open despite the federal government shutdown, but is operating with reduced staffing after more than half of its workforce was furloughed. It draws millions of visitors each year to its granite cliffs, waterfalls, and ancient sequoia groves. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>U.S Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum has also pushed back against \u003ca href=\"https://www.eenews.net/articles/burgum-pans-reports-of-illegal-cliff-jumping-in-yosemite/\">what he called “false claims” from “grifters”\u003c/a> about conditions in Yosemite during the shutdown. \u003ca href=\"https://x.com/SecretaryBurgum/status/1978266696893735094\">Burgum claimed on social media \u003c/a>that “Contrary to recent reports, the park remains fully staffed to ensure visitor safety and protect natural resources” and that “unauthorized camping, squatting and illegal activities like BASE jumping are being addressed with firm, appropriate law enforcement action.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But Yosemite sprawls across 1,200 square miles, much of it wilderness territory. So even though enforcement rangers are on duty, it’s not possible to keep track of every visitor’s activity — even outside of a shutdown, but especially while research- and education-focused rangers, often found on trails, are missing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>John DeGrazio, owner of YExplore, which runs private tours in the park, agreed that he hasn’t seen as much unruly behavior or “abuse” this shutdown as during past ones. But he said he has seen more people than usual sleeping in their cars in the park and bringing their dogs on unpaved trails, both of which are not allowed in Yosemite.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12062215\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12062215\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251027-YOSEMITESHUTDOWN-37-BL_QED-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251027-YOSEMITESHUTDOWN-37-BL_QED-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251027-YOSEMITESHUTDOWN-37-BL_QED-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251027-YOSEMITESHUTDOWN-37-BL_QED-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">John DeGrazio, owner of YExplore, a hiking tour company, sits outside the Yosemite Valley Lodge at Yosemite National Park in the Sierra Nevada Mountains on Oct. 27, 2025. The park remains open despite the federal government shutdown, but is operating with reduced staffing after more than half of its workforce was furloughed. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>He even met a couple last week on their honeymoon who told him they wanted to thank President Donald Trump for the opportunity to camp in Yosemite for free, said DeGrazio\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There are people who know how to take advantage of the system,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As big wall climber Cadence Brown sat in El Capitan Meadow watching his friends scale “The Nose,” he said he, too, had noticed the park seemed busier than usual for fall.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>At night, he said, El Cap’s 3,000 feet of sheer granite has looked far more illuminated with climbers’ headlamps.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Beyond experiencing the same difficulties finding parking I did, Brown said the only sign things might be different at Yosemite right now was the visitors he witnessed traipsing off-trail in the park’s meadows, seemingly emboldened by the lack of rangers to stop them. But for him, search-and-rescue crews still being fully active was key. “So as long as they’re here, we’re stoked,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While DeGrazio, too, is grateful the park is still open to keep his tours and his business running, he said he doesn’t know what the future holds.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I think there’s always a question of allowing access versus having that access being abused,” he said. “There’s going to be that concern of: How much abuse is actually happening long-term?”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>‘No long-term planning’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Mark Rose, Sierra Nevada program manager for the National Parks Conservation Association, said his visit to the park earlier this month only confirmed his worries.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Really small things like visitors trampling through meadows — that builds up more and more over time,” he said. “Even if 99% of folks visiting the park right now are being responsible and doing what they’re supposed to, all it takes is that 1% of visitors who see this as being this free-for-all.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Like the coalition of former park leaders and advocates, Rose also sounded an alarm about the lack of conservation and biological data being collected within the park while federal scientists working here are furloughed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>All kinds of behind-the-scenes work that goes unseen by visitors is completely on pause — work that was already being impacted by an estimated \u003ca href=\"https://www.npca.org/articles/9551-staffing-crisis-at-national-parks-reaches-breaking-point-new-data-shows-24\">24% reduction\u003c/a> in NPS staff since Trump’s inauguration in January.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12062216\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12062216\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251027-YOSEMITESHUTDOWN-42-BL_QED-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251027-YOSEMITESHUTDOWN-42-BL_QED-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251027-YOSEMITESHUTDOWN-42-BL_QED-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251027-YOSEMITESHUTDOWN-42-BL_QED-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A park ranger empties the garbage bins near the Welcome Center at Yosemite National Park in the Sierra Nevada Mountains on Oct. 27, 2025. The park remains open despite the federal government shutdown, but is operating with reduced staffing after more than half of its workforce was furloughed. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Right now, Yosemite is operating without a Chief of Resources, Rose said, a crucial role that heads up all of the park’s science and restoration work around its natural resources. And with Trump \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12060911/new-trump-layoffs-could-put-hundreds-more-national-park-service-employees-on-the-chopping-block\">threatening to fire furloughed workers\u003c/a> after the shutdown ends, the staffing crisis will only deepen, he warned.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“They’ve let go so many of their scientists and [natural] resource and cultural resource staff,” he said. “There’s no long-term planning being done; all the science that was happening has mostly just been put on pause and/or completely cut.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There’s a lot that’s piling up now that the government’s shut down that they’re going to have to take care of,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Rose also expressed concern that the pot of money currently being used to pay for basic operations and materials like fuel and cleaning supplies — which is keeping the visitor experience feeling so comparatively smooth during the shutdown— may even be being used illegally.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12062224\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1999px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12062224\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251028-YOSEMITESHUTDOWN-112-BL_QED-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1999\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251028-YOSEMITESHUTDOWN-112-BL_QED-KQED.jpg 1999w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251028-YOSEMITESHUTDOWN-112-BL_QED-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251028-YOSEMITESHUTDOWN-112-BL_QED-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1999px) 100vw, 1999px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A person fishes in the Yosemite Valley in Yosemite National Park in the Sierra Nevada Mountains on Oct. 28, 2025. The park remains open despite the federal government shutdown, but is operating with reduced staffing after more than half of its workforce was furloughed. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>After the last shutdown, the \u003ca href=\"https://wildlife.org/interior-fee-use-during-shutdown-was-against-the-law-gao-says/\">Government Accountability Office determined\u003c/a> that these fee dollars are supposed to go toward park projects, while Congress should fund the park’s general operations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And at some point, with no fees being collected at entrance gates, it’s going to run out. “We’re draining those accounts,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When I told Rose that I had seen much of what he did at Yosemite — meaning, not much on the surface — he warned that it’s really too soon to tell.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We don’t know to what degree the backcountry, other areas of the park, might be impacted — because that’s just not being monitored and reported out on by the park service,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>‘Eyes on the horizon’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The ripple effect from the shutdown will be felt for generations to come, warns Jesse Chakrin, executive director of the Fund for People in Parks.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The moment Chakrin learned I’d just returned from visiting Yosemite, he didn’t hold back about his thoughts on the current situation during the shutdown, employing phrases like “facade management” and “veneer.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“These impacts, it’s a lagging indicator,” he said. “It’s not the canary in the coal mine. When we notice the impact, it’s probably too late.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12062214\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12062214\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251027-YOSEMITESHUTDOWN-36-BL_QED-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251027-YOSEMITESHUTDOWN-36-BL_QED-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251027-YOSEMITESHUTDOWN-36-BL_QED-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251027-YOSEMITESHUTDOWN-36-BL_QED-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Mary-Michal Rawling, a public affairs manager for YARTS, stands near a bus stop at the Yosemite Valley Lodge at Yosemite National Park in the Sierra Nevada Mountains on Oct. 27, 2025. The park remains open despite the federal government shutdown, but is operating with reduced staffing after more than half of its workforce was furloughed. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Chakrin said he isn’t just worried that \u003ca href=\"https://www.outsideonline.com/adventure-travel/national-parks/trump-national-parks-yosemite/\">the Trump administration’s razor-sharp focus on continuing to allow parks to generate revenue\u003c/a> harms park resources today and tomorrow.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He’s also deeply concerned by the fact that critical operations like law enforcement, cleanliness and some visitor-facing services being maintained — in large part thanks to nonprofit dollars from the Yosemite Conservancy — could also be \u003ca href=\"https://subscriber.politicopro.com/article/eenews/2025/10/03/burgum-touts-chance-to-slash-government-amid-shutdown-00593040\">used as an argument to even further cut the staffing and budgets of national parks\u003c/a>, and turn them over to further privatization.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s a precedent that I think has some danger in it,” he said. “I think it opens the door for this idea that maybe a passable experience is possible through privately run, privately funded, ‘national’ parks.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This government seems very willing to privatize the things that are in the commons,” warned Chakrin.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Don Neubacher, retired Yosemite superintendent, said while he, too, gives credit to nonprofits for their work to fill gaps in funding, “parks take sustained money over time,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12062221\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12062221\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251028-YOSEMITESHUTDOWN-61-BL_QED-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251028-YOSEMITESHUTDOWN-61-BL_QED-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251028-YOSEMITESHUTDOWN-61-BL_QED-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251028-YOSEMITESHUTDOWN-61-BL_QED-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Visitors stand at Tunnel View overlook in Yosemite National Park in the Sierra Nevada Mountains on Oct. 28, 2025. The park remains open despite the federal government shutdown, but is operating with reduced staffing after more than half of its workforce was furloughed. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“There is very little evidence that nonprofits and these private groups can fund these parks in the long term,” he said, noting \u003ca href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/01/us/yosemite-job-cuts-trump.html\">the $30 million\u003c/a> yearly allocated to Yosemite from Congress. “That’s a tall order to have any nonprofit raise that kind of money and continue to manage Yosemite the way it should be.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>What visitors enjoying the park in its limited state today need to understand, Chakrin said, is that it’s the oftentimes invisible work of currently furloughed federal workers that makes parks like Yosemite so treasured — and fulfills their mission to leave these natural areas “\u003ca href=\"https://www.nps.gov/grba/learn/management/organic-act-of-1916.htm\">unimpaired for the enjoyment of future generations\u003c/a>.” The kind of things that go beyond a well-run Yosemite Valley tour, or a functioning bookstore.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“You’re making decadal policy with a blindfold on,” said Chakrin. “We need people with their eyes on the horizon.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We need the American public to understand what’s happening to their treasures,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cp>The Department of the Interior plans to lay off at least 272 additional \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/national-parks-service\">National Park Service\u003c/a> employees, according to a court filing published Monday.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.cand.457131/gov.uscourts.cand.457131.71.2.pdf\">The filing, \u003c/a>from the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, San Francisco Division, outlines the DOI’s plans, which include the proposed elimination of 2,050 positions within the agency across 89 units.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That includes more than 450 potentially affected employees from the Bureau of Land Management and nearly 150 staff from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And the planned firings outlined in the order may just be the start, said Kati Schmidt, communications director for the \u003ca href=\"https://www.npca.org/articles/11135-court-filings-reveal-secretary-burgum-s-plans-to-terminate-key-national\">National Parks Conservation Association\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The numbers come out of a court document filed in relation to the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12060025/sf-judge-blocks-trumps-politically-motivated-layoffs-of-federal-workers-during-shutdown\">U.S. District Judge Susan Illston’s decision\u003c/a> to grant unions representing federal workers a temporary restraining order as part of their lawsuit aimed at halting the Trump administration’s move to lay off 4,000 federal employees during the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/government-shutdown\">ongoing government shutdown.\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12029489\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12029489\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/CaliforniaPublicLandsGetty1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1335\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/CaliforniaPublicLandsGetty1.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/CaliforniaPublicLandsGetty1-800x534.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/CaliforniaPublicLandsGetty1-1020x681.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/CaliforniaPublicLandsGetty1-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/CaliforniaPublicLandsGetty1-1536x1025.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/CaliforniaPublicLandsGetty1-1920x1282.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A volunteer for the National Park Service welcomes visitors at the Exploration Center in Yosemite Valley, at Yosemite National Park on March 1, 2025. \u003ccite>(Laure Andrillon/AFP via Getty)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>But Schmidt cautioned that the information provided in the court filing may not even represent all of the staff who are at risk — including those not represented by the unions involved.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The overall number of planned staff reductions is likely much larger,” she warned.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Schmidt said that right now, since it’s unclear how many parks staff aren’t represented by the unions in this particular case — or how many unions representing park staff are as yet uninvolved — the exact number of additional workers who could be affected by these layoffs remains unknown.[aside postID=news_12060120 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/YosemiteGetty3.jpg']Since the start of President Donald Trump’s second term in January, the National Park Service has lost 24% of its permanent staff, according to\u003ca href=\"https://www.npca.org/articles/9551-staffing-crisis-at-national-parks-reaches-breaking-point-new-data-shows-24\"> estimates\u003c/a> from the National Parks Conservation Association.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This court filing confirms our worst fears,” NPCA President and CEO Theresa Pierno wrote in a statement on the group’s website. “No matter the size, any additional cuts to the Park Service will be devastating.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In an email to KQED, a DOI spokesperson confirmed these plans for layoffs within the agency “predate” the shutdown.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>NPCA’s Schmidt said the stalling of the shutdown-related layoffs due to the court order currently also prevents the DOI layoffs from being enacted until the shutdown ends — or a higher court steps in.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In late August, federal park workers at Yosemite and Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12054083/yosemite-sequoia-and-kings-canyon-workers-unionize-amid-fears-of-further-firings\">unionized under the National Federation of Federal Employees \u003c/a>— one of the unions whose members the order protects.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>The Department of the Interior plans to lay off at least 272 additional \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/national-parks-service\">National Park Service\u003c/a> employees, according to a court filing published Monday.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.cand.457131/gov.uscourts.cand.457131.71.2.pdf\">The filing, \u003c/a>from the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, San Francisco Division, outlines the DOI’s plans, which include the proposed elimination of 2,050 positions within the agency across 89 units.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That includes more than 450 potentially affected employees from the Bureau of Land Management and nearly 150 staff from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And the planned firings outlined in the order may just be the start, said Kati Schmidt, communications director for the \u003ca href=\"https://www.npca.org/articles/11135-court-filings-reveal-secretary-burgum-s-plans-to-terminate-key-national\">National Parks Conservation Association\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The numbers come out of a court document filed in relation to the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12060025/sf-judge-blocks-trumps-politically-motivated-layoffs-of-federal-workers-during-shutdown\">U.S. District Judge Susan Illston’s decision\u003c/a> to grant unions representing federal workers a temporary restraining order as part of their lawsuit aimed at halting the Trump administration’s move to lay off 4,000 federal employees during the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/government-shutdown\">ongoing government shutdown.\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12029489\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12029489\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/CaliforniaPublicLandsGetty1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1335\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/CaliforniaPublicLandsGetty1.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/CaliforniaPublicLandsGetty1-800x534.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/CaliforniaPublicLandsGetty1-1020x681.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/CaliforniaPublicLandsGetty1-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/CaliforniaPublicLandsGetty1-1536x1025.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/CaliforniaPublicLandsGetty1-1920x1282.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A volunteer for the National Park Service welcomes visitors at the Exploration Center in Yosemite Valley, at Yosemite National Park on March 1, 2025. \u003ccite>(Laure Andrillon/AFP via Getty)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>But Schmidt cautioned that the information provided in the court filing may not even represent all of the staff who are at risk — including those not represented by the unions involved.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The overall number of planned staff reductions is likely much larger,” she warned.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Schmidt said that right now, since it’s unclear how many parks staff aren’t represented by the unions in this particular case — or how many unions representing park staff are as yet uninvolved — the exact number of additional workers who could be affected by these layoffs remains unknown.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Since the start of President Donald Trump’s second term in January, the National Park Service has lost 24% of its permanent staff, according to\u003ca href=\"https://www.npca.org/articles/9551-staffing-crisis-at-national-parks-reaches-breaking-point-new-data-shows-24\"> estimates\u003c/a> from the National Parks Conservation Association.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This court filing confirms our worst fears,” NPCA President and CEO Theresa Pierno wrote in a statement on the group’s website. “No matter the size, any additional cuts to the Park Service will be devastating.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In an email to KQED, a DOI spokesperson confirmed these plans for layoffs within the agency “predate” the shutdown.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>NPCA’s Schmidt said the stalling of the shutdown-related layoffs due to the court order currently also prevents the DOI layoffs from being enacted until the shutdown ends — or a higher court steps in.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In late August, federal park workers at Yosemite and Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12054083/yosemite-sequoia-and-kings-canyon-workers-unionize-amid-fears-of-further-firings\">unionized under the National Federation of Federal Employees \u003c/a>— one of the unions whose members the order protects.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"content": "\u003cp>When Santa Rosa resident Sean Jennings arrived at Yosemite National Park last week on a weekday during the ongoing \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/government-shutdown\">government shutdown\u003c/a>, he was shocked by how busy the park was: “There were people everywhere,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Jennings had planned a leaf peeping trip through the Sierra with his daughter Sugar and had reserved one night’s stay in Yosemite itself at Porcupine Flats campground, near Tioga Pass.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As frequent visitors to national parks, Jennings said he and his daughter were surprised to find bumper-to-bumper traffic, full parking lots and piled-up garbage — especially for a Monday in October. He also reported “a general undercurrent of, I wouldn’t say hostility, but unease” among their fellow visitors.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And on top of it all, when the family pulled into their campground, with no rangers around to check in campground guests and enforce bookings, there was somebody already set up in the spot that they had reserved and paid for weeks ago.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Jennings said the person did politely pack up and leave when confronted. But overall, “there was definitely a level of brusqueness” to most of his interactions with other visitors in the park, he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11970738\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11970738\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/12/GettyImages-1846156476-scaled-e1759449061670.jpg\" alt=\"state parks\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A welcome sign is seen at the Yosemite National Park on Dec. 13, 2023. \u003ccite>(Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu via Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“It didn’t feel as welcoming, as open as it has in the past for us,” he said. “It felt disorganized and had sort of a ‘first-come-first-serve,’ ‘screw you’ type of feeling to it.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12058298/at-muir-woods-tourists-heartbroken-over-national-park-closure-during-shutdown\">Unlike other national parks\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12058508/yes-yosemite-is-open-during-the-shutdown-but-with-lots-of-changes-for-visitors\">Yosemite has remained open during the federal government shutdown\u003c/a>, albeit with a drastically reduced workforce. And more than two weeks in, with many of their workers off the job, \u003ca href=\"http://kqed.org/news/12059380/should-i-still-visit-yosemite-and-other-questions-about-national-parks-during-the-shutdown\">national parks are starting to feel the effects\u003c/a> of the federal government shutdown.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While some say reports of unpermitted activity at Yosemite National Park are overblown, others say an uptick in visitors has been significant and noticeable – so much that they’re worried about the long-term effects not just on the park, but on the behavior of future park visitors.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>‘Eerie’ in the Valley\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Mark Rose, Sierra Nevada program manager for the National Parks Conservation Association, visited Yosemite late last week and said most things appeared normal. For the most part, the bathrooms he saw were clean, and the trash had been taken out, and a volunteer was even on duty as his campground host. But the park had an “eerie” feel, Rose said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It almost felt like you showed up to class and none of the teachers were there,” he said. “I didn’t see a single National Park Service employee — not a single ranger wearing a ranger suit, walking around or helping visitors.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12059383\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12059383\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/YosemiteGetty-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/YosemiteGetty-1.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/YosemiteGetty-1-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/YosemiteGetty-1-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A motorist passes through the Tioga Pass fee station at the eastern entrance to Yosemite National Park, which is vacant of available employees to collect fees that help fund the park, on the first day of the government shutdown on Oct. 1, 2025, in Yosemite National Park, California. \u003ccite>(David McNew/Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>That’s because most park rangers, particularly “interpretive rangers” — those that share park information with the public — \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12057777/government-shutdown-who-affected-bay-area-california-social-security-airports-national-parks-courts-fleet-week-sf\">have been furloughed during the shutdown\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the interim, volunteers and employees from the nonprofit Yosemite Conservancy are staffing a single welcome center in the Valley. But all other visitor centers and museums, as well as the park entrance kiosks, are closed. There are no ranger programs, no maps being handed out and some Yosemite campgrounds don’t even have a volunteer making sure that reservations are being honored — or that \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12002429/california-camping-tahoe-yosemite-bears-safety-what-to-do-bear-spray\">people are storing their food away from bears \u003c/a>and other wildlife.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Many weekend visitors to Yosemite posting \u003ca href=\"https://www.reddit.com/r/Yosemite/comments/1o6mltd/current_state_of_campgrounds/\">to Reddit\u003c/a> reported that, like Rose, they saw nothing out of the ordinary in the park during the shutdown. But nonetheless, Rose said, just one bad actor can have a major impact — and with \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/forum/2010101910047/yosemite-and-other-ca-national-parks-underfunded-understaffed-this-summer\">staffing already down this year\u003c/a> in national parks, added to President Donald Trump’s threats to cut even more employees during the shutdown, Rose is worried about the bigger picture.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We saw before the shutdown and during the shutdown, \u003ca href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/27/us/politics/trump-cuts-national-parks.html\">we don’t have adequate levels of staffing\u003c/a> to protect visitors and protect resources,” Rose said. “The concern is the longer this drags on, the more of these impacts we’re going to continue to see.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Short on staff\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>As the shutdown loomed in late September, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12058137/government-shutdown-2025-national-parks-planning-memo\">a group of former national parks superintendents sounded the alarm\u003c/a> about the effect that keeping parks open without full staff could have.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>With so many of their colleagues off the job, the few people deemed essential and still working in Yosemite — including fire and search-and-rescue crews — are under strain. One federal worker in the park, who spoke to KQED on condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation and losing their job, said the park has been busy, “like all the time,” since the shutdown, with visitorship more resembling the park’s summer peaks.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12058519\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12058519\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/YosemiteGetty.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1298\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/YosemiteGetty.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/YosemiteGetty-160x104.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/YosemiteGetty-1536x997.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Visitors look up at El Capitan from El Capitan Meadow in Yosemite National Park, California, on May 20, 2025. \u003ccite>(Carlos Avila Gonzalez/San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“There’s nobody to stop them at the gate,” they said. With nobody on duty to collect entrance fees, “everybody knows that it’s free, so they’re just coming.” KQED reached out to Yosemite National Park representatives for comment, but received no response.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Also still working are law enforcement rangers, essentially the police at parks, but Elisabeth Barton, founding member and CEO of tour company Echo Adventure Cooperative, said they are doing “double duty,” as they attempt to enforce rules that visitors were never apprised of.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Barton, whose group guides trips in Yosemite and Stanislaus National Forest, described the scene in Yosemite during the last two weeks as “wild.”[aside postID=news_12059380 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251001-NATIONAL-PARKS-SHUTDOWN-MD-04-KQED-1536x1024.jpg']Barton said she fears the shutdown has actually attracted a more “aggressive” type of visitor — one that saw that parks would be open but unstaffed, and decided to come anyway. And for some, to take the opportunity to do an activity that’s normally banned or requires a permit.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The \u003ca href=\"https://theoxfordblue.co.uk/why-does-everyone-suddenly-want-to-rock-climb/\">soaring popularity of climbing as a sport\u003c/a>, which is in one of its \u003ca href=\"https://wildlandtrekking.com/blog/the-ultimate-guide-to-rock-climbing-in-yosemite/\">peak seasons\u003c/a> in the park, may explain the lines she’s seen during the shutdown at popular Yosemite routes like “The Nose” of El Capitan, she said. And while you’ll find people doing unpermitted things in the park all year round, Barton said, she thinks people have gotten more bold — \u003ca href=\"https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2025/10/15/yosemite-national-park-base-jumpers-government-shutdown/86703269007/\">BASE jumping off cliffs without a permit in broad daylight\u003c/a> and flying drones, \u003ca href=\"https://www.nps.gov/yose/learn/news/use-of-unmanned-aircraft-systems-drones-prohibited-in-yosemite-national-park.htm%3Fcmpid%3Dpscau\">an activity that’s banned in national parks\u003c/a> — knowing there aren’t enough staff to enforce the rules.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Members of her guiding company have “been trying to do our part and just remind people that [drones are] illegal, and they do not care,” she said. “And they have told us such.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This past weekend felt like the Fourth of July, it was so busy,” the anonymous park worker said — and is especially concerned about the unchecked visitor behavior they’ve witnessed during the shutdown. “There are so many people parked all over the place, parked in the dirt, parked on plants and other resources.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the campgrounds themselves, “there’s definitely been an uptick in people squatting,” they said — just like the Jennings family encountered at Porcupine Flats.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>A bad standard\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The Yosemite shutdown crowds have Barton feeling “very conflicted,” she said. On the one hand, her co-op’s guiding business, hotel and outdoor shop have thrived during this period. “It’s incredibly beneficial to my company to have the shutdown when it’s happening, because the shoulder season is now busier than it’s ever been,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And Barton believes everyone should experience the beauty of national parks, especially those who’ve never been to one before.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11740802\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11740802\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2019/04/RS1491_STA_629-e1555526819429.jpg\" alt=\"El Capitan in Yosemite National Park.\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1440\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">El Capitan in Yosemite National Park. \u003ccite>(Craig Miller/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“But at the same time, I’m seeing unprecedented damage to my park,” she said. And while the number of people actually breaking the rules — intentionally or unintentionally — may be relatively small, Barton worries that bad actors are setting a particularly bad example for those first-time visitors, who may build undesirable habits and cause damage at parks in the future.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There is a standard being set for a national park visitor — the folks who would never dare pull a drone out of their vehicle because it’s just against the rules and they know it,” she said. “While they’re in the park, they’re seeing all these drones moving and they’re like, ‘You know what, maybe it’s not that big of a deal?’”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The anonymous park worker said there’s not much they can do to stop the behavior. Law enforcement is generally too busy to ticket everyone, and they’re skeptical they’ll receive word of changes from park leadership anytime soon. “Information is not being disseminated,” they said — and the leadership above them “doesn’t know anything.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Rose, too, worries this may just be the start of bigger impacts for national parks.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The last shutdown was 35 days,” he said. “And it wasn’t until we got about 3 weeks into it that you really started to see some of the impacts.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>When Santa Rosa resident Sean Jennings arrived at Yosemite National Park last week on a weekday during the ongoing \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/government-shutdown\">government shutdown\u003c/a>, he was shocked by how busy the park was: “There were people everywhere,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Jennings had planned a leaf peeping trip through the Sierra with his daughter Sugar and had reserved one night’s stay in Yosemite itself at Porcupine Flats campground, near Tioga Pass.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As frequent visitors to national parks, Jennings said he and his daughter were surprised to find bumper-to-bumper traffic, full parking lots and piled-up garbage — especially for a Monday in October. He also reported “a general undercurrent of, I wouldn’t say hostility, but unease” among their fellow visitors.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And on top of it all, when the family pulled into their campground, with no rangers around to check in campground guests and enforce bookings, there was somebody already set up in the spot that they had reserved and paid for weeks ago.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Jennings said the person did politely pack up and leave when confronted. But overall, “there was definitely a level of brusqueness” to most of his interactions with other visitors in the park, he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11970738\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11970738\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/12/GettyImages-1846156476-scaled-e1759449061670.jpg\" alt=\"state parks\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A welcome sign is seen at the Yosemite National Park on Dec. 13, 2023. \u003ccite>(Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu via Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“It didn’t feel as welcoming, as open as it has in the past for us,” he said. “It felt disorganized and had sort of a ‘first-come-first-serve,’ ‘screw you’ type of feeling to it.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12058298/at-muir-woods-tourists-heartbroken-over-national-park-closure-during-shutdown\">Unlike other national parks\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12058508/yes-yosemite-is-open-during-the-shutdown-but-with-lots-of-changes-for-visitors\">Yosemite has remained open during the federal government shutdown\u003c/a>, albeit with a drastically reduced workforce. And more than two weeks in, with many of their workers off the job, \u003ca href=\"http://kqed.org/news/12059380/should-i-still-visit-yosemite-and-other-questions-about-national-parks-during-the-shutdown\">national parks are starting to feel the effects\u003c/a> of the federal government shutdown.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While some say reports of unpermitted activity at Yosemite National Park are overblown, others say an uptick in visitors has been significant and noticeable – so much that they’re worried about the long-term effects not just on the park, but on the behavior of future park visitors.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>‘Eerie’ in the Valley\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Mark Rose, Sierra Nevada program manager for the National Parks Conservation Association, visited Yosemite late last week and said most things appeared normal. For the most part, the bathrooms he saw were clean, and the trash had been taken out, and a volunteer was even on duty as his campground host. But the park had an “eerie” feel, Rose said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It almost felt like you showed up to class and none of the teachers were there,” he said. “I didn’t see a single National Park Service employee — not a single ranger wearing a ranger suit, walking around or helping visitors.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12059383\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12059383\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/YosemiteGetty-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/YosemiteGetty-1.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/YosemiteGetty-1-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/YosemiteGetty-1-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A motorist passes through the Tioga Pass fee station at the eastern entrance to Yosemite National Park, which is vacant of available employees to collect fees that help fund the park, on the first day of the government shutdown on Oct. 1, 2025, in Yosemite National Park, California. \u003ccite>(David McNew/Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>That’s because most park rangers, particularly “interpretive rangers” — those that share park information with the public — \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12057777/government-shutdown-who-affected-bay-area-california-social-security-airports-national-parks-courts-fleet-week-sf\">have been furloughed during the shutdown\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the interim, volunteers and employees from the nonprofit Yosemite Conservancy are staffing a single welcome center in the Valley. But all other visitor centers and museums, as well as the park entrance kiosks, are closed. There are no ranger programs, no maps being handed out and some Yosemite campgrounds don’t even have a volunteer making sure that reservations are being honored — or that \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12002429/california-camping-tahoe-yosemite-bears-safety-what-to-do-bear-spray\">people are storing their food away from bears \u003c/a>and other wildlife.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Many weekend visitors to Yosemite posting \u003ca href=\"https://www.reddit.com/r/Yosemite/comments/1o6mltd/current_state_of_campgrounds/\">to Reddit\u003c/a> reported that, like Rose, they saw nothing out of the ordinary in the park during the shutdown. But nonetheless, Rose said, just one bad actor can have a major impact — and with \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/forum/2010101910047/yosemite-and-other-ca-national-parks-underfunded-understaffed-this-summer\">staffing already down this year\u003c/a> in national parks, added to President Donald Trump’s threats to cut even more employees during the shutdown, Rose is worried about the bigger picture.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We saw before the shutdown and during the shutdown, \u003ca href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/27/us/politics/trump-cuts-national-parks.html\">we don’t have adequate levels of staffing\u003c/a> to protect visitors and protect resources,” Rose said. “The concern is the longer this drags on, the more of these impacts we’re going to continue to see.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Short on staff\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>As the shutdown loomed in late September, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12058137/government-shutdown-2025-national-parks-planning-memo\">a group of former national parks superintendents sounded the alarm\u003c/a> about the effect that keeping parks open without full staff could have.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>With so many of their colleagues off the job, the few people deemed essential and still working in Yosemite — including fire and search-and-rescue crews — are under strain. One federal worker in the park, who spoke to KQED on condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation and losing their job, said the park has been busy, “like all the time,” since the shutdown, with visitorship more resembling the park’s summer peaks.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12058519\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12058519\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/YosemiteGetty.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1298\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/YosemiteGetty.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/YosemiteGetty-160x104.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/YosemiteGetty-1536x997.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Visitors look up at El Capitan from El Capitan Meadow in Yosemite National Park, California, on May 20, 2025. \u003ccite>(Carlos Avila Gonzalez/San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“There’s nobody to stop them at the gate,” they said. With nobody on duty to collect entrance fees, “everybody knows that it’s free, so they’re just coming.” KQED reached out to Yosemite National Park representatives for comment, but received no response.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Also still working are law enforcement rangers, essentially the police at parks, but Elisabeth Barton, founding member and CEO of tour company Echo Adventure Cooperative, said they are doing “double duty,” as they attempt to enforce rules that visitors were never apprised of.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Barton, whose group guides trips in Yosemite and Stanislaus National Forest, described the scene in Yosemite during the last two weeks as “wild.”\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Barton said she fears the shutdown has actually attracted a more “aggressive” type of visitor — one that saw that parks would be open but unstaffed, and decided to come anyway. And for some, to take the opportunity to do an activity that’s normally banned or requires a permit.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The \u003ca href=\"https://theoxfordblue.co.uk/why-does-everyone-suddenly-want-to-rock-climb/\">soaring popularity of climbing as a sport\u003c/a>, which is in one of its \u003ca href=\"https://wildlandtrekking.com/blog/the-ultimate-guide-to-rock-climbing-in-yosemite/\">peak seasons\u003c/a> in the park, may explain the lines she’s seen during the shutdown at popular Yosemite routes like “The Nose” of El Capitan, she said. And while you’ll find people doing unpermitted things in the park all year round, Barton said, she thinks people have gotten more bold — \u003ca href=\"https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2025/10/15/yosemite-national-park-base-jumpers-government-shutdown/86703269007/\">BASE jumping off cliffs without a permit in broad daylight\u003c/a> and flying drones, \u003ca href=\"https://www.nps.gov/yose/learn/news/use-of-unmanned-aircraft-systems-drones-prohibited-in-yosemite-national-park.htm%3Fcmpid%3Dpscau\">an activity that’s banned in national parks\u003c/a> — knowing there aren’t enough staff to enforce the rules.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Members of her guiding company have “been trying to do our part and just remind people that [drones are] illegal, and they do not care,” she said. “And they have told us such.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This past weekend felt like the Fourth of July, it was so busy,” the anonymous park worker said — and is especially concerned about the unchecked visitor behavior they’ve witnessed during the shutdown. “There are so many people parked all over the place, parked in the dirt, parked on plants and other resources.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the campgrounds themselves, “there’s definitely been an uptick in people squatting,” they said — just like the Jennings family encountered at Porcupine Flats.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>A bad standard\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The Yosemite shutdown crowds have Barton feeling “very conflicted,” she said. On the one hand, her co-op’s guiding business, hotel and outdoor shop have thrived during this period. “It’s incredibly beneficial to my company to have the shutdown when it’s happening, because the shoulder season is now busier than it’s ever been,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And Barton believes everyone should experience the beauty of national parks, especially those who’ve never been to one before.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11740802\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11740802\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2019/04/RS1491_STA_629-e1555526819429.jpg\" alt=\"El Capitan in Yosemite National Park.\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1440\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">El Capitan in Yosemite National Park. \u003ccite>(Craig Miller/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“But at the same time, I’m seeing unprecedented damage to my park,” she said. And while the number of people actually breaking the rules — intentionally or unintentionally — may be relatively small, Barton worries that bad actors are setting a particularly bad example for those first-time visitors, who may build undesirable habits and cause damage at parks in the future.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There is a standard being set for a national park visitor — the folks who would never dare pull a drone out of their vehicle because it’s just against the rules and they know it,” she said. “While they’re in the park, they’re seeing all these drones moving and they’re like, ‘You know what, maybe it’s not that big of a deal?’”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The anonymous park worker said there’s not much they can do to stop the behavior. Law enforcement is generally too busy to ticket everyone, and they’re skeptical they’ll receive word of changes from park leadership anytime soon. “Information is not being disseminated,” they said — and the leadership above them “doesn’t know anything.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Rose, too, worries this may just be the start of bigger impacts for national parks.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The last shutdown was 35 days,” he said. “And it wasn’t until we got about 3 weeks into it that you really started to see some of the impacts.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"slug": "should-i-still-visit-yosemite-and-other-questions-about-national-parks-during-the-shutdown",
"title": "Should I Still Visit Yosemite? And Other Questions About National Parks During the Shutdown",
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"headTitle": "Should I Still Visit Yosemite? And Other Questions About National Parks During the Shutdown | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cp>More than a week in, the federal \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/government-shutdown\">government shutdown\u003c/a> has affected national parks in an often-confusing variety of ways.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While many \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12058291/san-francisco-national-parks-government-shutdown-bay-area-muir-woods-redwoods-fort-point\">National Park Service sites are fully open,\u003c/a> like \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12058592/alcatraz-island-is-open-again-after-several-false-starts\">Alcatraz\u003c/a>, other sites are completely closed during the shutdown — including \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12058298/at-muir-woods-tourists-heartbroken-over-national-park-closure-during-shutdown\">Muir Woods National Monument.\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And then, there are the other parks that remain technically open but with \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12058508/yes-yosemite-is-open-during-the-shutdown-but-with-lots-of-changes-for-visitors\">vastly reduced staffing levels and limited services\u003c/a>. What’s more, with many NPS staff furloughed, these parks’ websites are not being updated during the shutdown, making it even more difficult to find up-to-date information, especially for first-time visitors.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If you have plans to visit a national park soon — having secured a coveted camping Yosemite reservation, for example — it might feel hard right now to know what’s happening on the ground at parks, and how you can prepare for your trip.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>We talked to the experts, who shared what you should know about visiting national parks during the shutdown.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Jump straight to:\u003c/p>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"#ShouldIstillgotoaNationalParkduringtheshutdown\">Should I still go to a National Park during the shutdown?\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"#Willmyreservationbehonored\">Will my reservation be honored?\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"#HowwillIknowifatrailisopenorclosed\">How will I know if a trail is open or closed?\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"#HowcanIrecreateresponsibly\">How can I recreate responsibly?\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"#WhereelsecanIgoonmyvacation\">Where else can I go on my vacation?\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"#HowcanIsupportNationalParksrightnow\">How can I support National Parks right now?\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003ch2>\u003ca id=\"ShouldIstillgotoaNationalParkduringtheshutdown\">\u003c/a>Should I still go to a national park that’s open?\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>First things first — check whether the park you’re planning to visit \u003cem>is \u003c/em>actually open, as \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12058291/san-francisco-national-parks-government-shutdown-bay-area-muir-woods-redwoods-fort-point\">several parks have experienced something of a back-and-forth\u003c/a> with closing and opening in the last week.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If the park of your choice is open, make sure you know of any other closures that may still be in place within it, like bathrooms, parking lots, campsites and other amenities.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12059389\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12059389\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/YosemiteGetty2.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/YosemiteGetty2.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/YosemiteGetty2-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/YosemiteGetty2-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Visitors hike the Mist Trail toward Vernal Falls on Aug. 31, 2025, in the Yosemite National Park, California. \u003ccite>(Apu Gomes/Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>For example, \u003ca href=\"https://www.yosemite.com/current-conditions/\">Yosemite\u003c/a> has open gates but no rangers on duty at the entry to collect fees, and all visitor centers are locked. \u003ca href=\"https://www.nps.gov/goga/planyourvisit/park-status-during-2025-lapse.htm\">A full list of closures of Golden Gate National Recreation\u003c/a> sites in the Bay Area can be found here.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Remember that many national parks websites are not being updated during the shutdown. What’s more, communications staff for parks have been furloughed, with many only checking email for urgent safety issues — so updates to the public, including on social media, will be slow to get out.[aside postID=news_12058291 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/GGBridgeGetty.jpg']Mark Rose, the \u003ca href=\"https://www.npca.org/articles/11003-parks-group-warns-shutdown-leaves-national-parks-open-and-unprotected-while\">National Parks Conservation Association’\u003c/a>s Sierra Nevada program manager, said his organization is encouraging visitors who \u003cem>can \u003c/em>change their plans to do so.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Canceling your trip isn’t just to protect the park, he said — but also because you may miss out on some attractions like visitor centers, ranger programs and museums that aren’t operating during the shutdown.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But, “if you have a reservation, or this is a once-in-a-lifetime trip and you’re flying across the country, we’re not going to say, ‘Don’t go to the park,’” Rose said. “If you are going to go, do everything you can to plan ahead and be prepared.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>However, he did warn against taking on a more risky adventure right now — like a multi-day backpacking trip — because staffing is low and response times may be delayed in an emergency.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As for more local and urban national park sites like those within the Bay Area, Chris Lehnertz, president and CEO of the Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy, said it’s OK to visit, but be sure to focus on minimizing damage.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I think people should continue to go to parks — \u003cem>and \u003c/em>they should be thoughtful visitors,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003ca id=\"Willmyreservationbehonored\">\u003c/a>Will my national parks reservation be honored?\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>It \u003cem>should \u003c/em>be. But if it isn’t, you may unfortunately have trouble finding out ahead of time.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Since the government shutdown on Oct. 1, reservations for NPS lands — like camping sites and backcountry permits — have been thrown into confusion, \u003ca href=\"https://www.reddit.com/r/JoshuaTree/comments/1nw8pmp/reservation_automatically_cancelled/\">with Reddit threads like this one\u003c/a> full of people struggling to find definitive answers on whether their reservations will be honored.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12058253\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12058253\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251001-NATIONAL-PARKS-SHUTDOWN-MD-04-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251001-NATIONAL-PARKS-SHUTDOWN-MD-04-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251001-NATIONAL-PARKS-SHUTDOWN-MD-04-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251001-NATIONAL-PARKS-SHUTDOWN-MD-04-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A visitor peeks past the barriers at the entrance of Muir Woods National Monument in Marin County, California, which is closed as a consequence of the government shutdown on Oct. 1, 2025. \u003ccite>(Martin do Nascimento/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The simplest answer is that if the park is open, you can still go — and your reservation should still be valid. But Rose warned that due to reduced staff, there may be fewer rangers available to check that everyone is complying with the reservation system.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a worst-case scenario, this could mean there’s nobody to make sure someone isn’t taking your campsite, either inadvertently or deliberately.[aside postID=news_12058508 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/YosemiteGetty.jpg']A message on \u003ca href=\"http://recreation.gov\">Recreation.gov\u003c/a>, which manages reservations for national parks, states that \u003ca href=\"https://www.recreation.gov/government-shutdown-info\">the agency isn’t able to keep track of current closures\u003c/a>, and that understaffing may, in fact, cancel your reservation even at a park that’s otherwise open.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Cory Goehring, outdoor programs manager and senior naturalist at nonprofit Yosemite Conservancy, said that while services are limited within the park, he’s heard that people are generally respecting reservations — and hasn’t seen reports of overcrowding or damage just yet.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Wilderness reservations for backcountry trips are still valid, Goehring said. But most wilderness centers — other than the one in Yosemite Valley — won’t have rangers there to help you register your trip ahead of time.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This means it’s important that you self-register your trip and let others know about your plans ahead of time in case of an emergency, Goehring said. You’ll also need to \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12058508/yes-yosemite-is-open-during-the-shutdown-but-with-lots-of-changes-for-visitors\">bring your own bear canister\u003c/a>, as rentals will not be available outside of Yosemite Valley, and be sure to abide by food storage regulations.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003ca id=\"HowwillIknowifatrailisopenorclosed\">\u003c/a>How will I know which trails are open in a park?\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>During the shutdown, those parts of parks that are already physically accessible are staying open. Think of it as “an open-air closure,” Lehnertz said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So while certain visitor centers and entire welcome areas are closed, including parking lots, many trails remain open and technically accessible.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12049693\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12049693\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/Fog-2.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/Fog-2.png 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/Fog-2-160x107.png 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/Fog-2-1536x1024.png 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Hikers explore Point Reyes shrouded in fog on July 20, 2025. \u003ccite>(Sarah Wright/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>So long as there’s no “closed” sign, these trails can be accessed, but Lehnertz noted that since you may find some areas are unexpectedly closed, be sure to respect any signs you \u003cem>do \u003c/em>see.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Basically, whether it’s at a park entrance or within the park itself, “don’t go past any sign that has the word ‘Closed’ on it,” urged Lehnertz.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She also warned that you could encounter slower response times if there’s an emergency due to reduced staffing, and amenities like bathrooms and trash cans may not be serviced as frequently.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003ca id=\"HowcanIrecreateresponsibly\">\u003c/a>How can I recreate responsibly?\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>“The most important thing to keep in mind is: these are public lands, and we all have a responsibility to tend to them,” Goehring said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While Yosemite remains open, he urged visitors to follow \u003ca href=\"https://www.nps.gov/yose/planyourvisit/lnt.htm\">Leave No Trace\u003c/a> principles by respecting the park’s natural and cultural sites.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Looking at the seven pillars of Leave No Trace, the very first one is to plan ahead and prepare,” he said. “That’s going to be the most important thing for people to do if they’re going to make their way to Yosemite.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11997996\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11997996\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/GETTYIMAGES-2021284785-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/GETTYIMAGES-2021284785-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/GETTYIMAGES-2021284785-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/GETTYIMAGES-2021284785-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/GETTYIMAGES-2021284785-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/GETTYIMAGES-2021284785-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/GETTYIMAGES-2021284785-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Upper Yosemite Fall is reflected in the Merced River at Swinging Bridge in Yosemite National Park on June 13, 2023. \u003ccite>(Tracy Barbutes/The Washington Post via Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>While the park’s website might not be fully up to date, Lehnertz recommended checking out the “\u003ca href=\"https://www.nps.gov/alca/planyourvisit/index.htm\">Plan Your Visit\u003c/a>” section to get advice ahead of your trip. Think about the timing of your visit, and what your bathroom and trash needs will be ahead of time. If you’re traveling with kids or pets, consider what their needs will be, too.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Most of all, don’t go off trails or damage the park, she reiterated.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A \u003ca href=\"https://yosemite.org/yosemite-during-the-government-shutdown/\">guide published by the Yosemite Conservancy\u003c/a> also urges visitors to stay patient, as “fewer staff means slower or reduced service.” Goehring recommends \u003ca href=\"https://www.nps.gov/yose/planyourvisit/upload/Yosemite-Guide-50-8-508V1.pdf\">downloading the park map and guide\u003c/a> ahead of time, since no one will be there to give directions at the entrance of the park.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Many parks have limited cell phone service, so the National Parks Conservation Association advises \u003ca href=\"https://www.npca.org/articles/7670-2025-park-visitation-prepare-for-the-unexpected\">bringing extra water and being especially careful to respect wildlife\u003c/a> during the shutdown.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>NPCA’s Rose urged visitors to \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12002429/california-camping-tahoe-yosemite-bears-safety-what-to-do-bear-spray\">store their food away from bears\u003c/a> and to be extra cautious about wildfires amid limited staffing to help guard against those hazards. “All it takes is one bad actor” to “undo decades of progress,” he warned.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So far, Lehnertz said, who works with national park sites in the Bay Area, “our community members are being very respectful of park resources.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>I want to stay away from national parks during the shutdown. \u003ca id=\"WhereelsecanIgoonmyvacation\">\u003c/a>Where can I go instead?\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>While some national parks are closed or operating with limited staff, California’s 280 state parks are all functional and operating as usual. That includes more than 340 miles of coastline, 970 miles of lake and river frontage and more than 15,000 campsites and 4,500 miles of trail, according to California State Parks spokesperson Adeline Yee.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When it comes to state-run alternatives to popular national parks in the Sierra, Yee particularly recommended \u003ca href=\"https://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=514\">Mono Lake Tufa State Natural Reserve\u003c/a> near the eastern entrance to Yosemite.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12046849\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12046849\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/MonoLakeGullsGetty1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1458\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/MonoLakeGullsGetty1.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/MonoLakeGullsGetty1-160x117.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/MonoLakeGullsGetty1-1536x1120.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A California gull soars above Mono Lake in Lee Vining, California, on July 18, 2011. \u003ccite>(Paul Chinn/The San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>For a taste of Gold Rush history and some very big trees, you can stop by \u003ca href=\"https://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=552\">Columbia State Historic Park\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=551\">Calaveras Big Trees State Park\u003c/a> near Yosemite’s western entrances, Yee said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And amid the changing fall colors, state parks even published its own list of autumn \u003ca href=\"https://www.parks.ca.gov/NewsRelease/1430\">recommendations to catch the best of the vibrant foliage, \u003c/a>which includes Bay Area parks like Angel Island, Henry Coe and Castle Rock state parks.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.parks.ca.gov/Find-a-Park\">See the list of all state parks within California\u003c/a> and take a look at \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12058291/san-francisco-national-parks-government-shutdown-bay-area-muir-woods-redwoods-fort-point\">KQED’s other recommendations for Bay Area landmarks\u003c/a> that aren’t affected by the shutdown, including the Presidio.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003ca id=\"HowcanIsupportNationalParksrightnow\">\u003c/a>How can I support National Parks right now?\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The NPCA estimates that parks \u003ca href=\"https://www.npca.org/articles/3590-what-a-federal-government-shutdown-means-for-national-parks\">could lose as much as $1 million per day\u003c/a> while not collecting entrance and other fees during the shutdown. That’s not even including the potential impacts to local economies — an estimated $80 million daily — that will lose their own revenue as visitorship pauses, the organization said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In addition to the nationwide nonprofit \u003ca href=\"https://give.nationalparks.org/site/Donation2?df_id=9065&9065.donation=form1&mfc_pref=T&s_subsrc=25D00WGG-X0G2X&utm_source=ck-ad&utm_medium=GG&utm_campaign=evg25&rc=CKNPF-SEARCH-GG-BRAND-US-X0G2X&g_acctid=334-377-6810&g_keyword=national%20parks%20foundation&g_network=g&g_adgroupid=144572029880&g_keywordid=kwd-354898249845&g_adtype=search&g_campaignid=18504611475&g_adid=727503475416&g_campaign=NPF+Paid+Search+-+Brand+-+EXACT&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=18504611475&gbraid=0AAAAADtLNwL-71r6J9kImJF9VCRDauhx7&gclid=CjwKCAjwup3HBhAAEiwA7euZunIHMAH9ENxAOcGigmLM09UNNMlQPeG-Ys4c40TxOpDgkUlICO2uexoCa98QAvD_BwE\">National Park Foundation\u003c/a>, every national park has its own nonprofit arm that organizes volunteers, runs bookstores and often fills gaps left by the National Park Service. Some of those groups are even using their own funds to keep parks open, like Lehnertz’s group, which is now \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12059259/san-franciscos-fort-point-will-partially-reopen-amid-national-parks-shutdown\">paying to keep Fort Point available to the public again\u003c/a> on weekends.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12029489\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12029489\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/CaliforniaPublicLandsGetty1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1335\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/CaliforniaPublicLandsGetty1.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/CaliforniaPublicLandsGetty1-800x534.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/CaliforniaPublicLandsGetty1-1020x681.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/CaliforniaPublicLandsGetty1-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/CaliforniaPublicLandsGetty1-1536x1025.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/CaliforniaPublicLandsGetty1-1920x1282.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A volunteer for the National Park Service welcomes visitors at the Exploration Center in Yosemite Valley, at Yosemite National Park on March 1, 2025. \u003ccite>(Laure Andrillon/AFP via Getty)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Plus, these organizations are still operating their own programs within national parks during the shutdown. These include the \u003ca href=\"https://yosemite.org/experience/outdoor-adventures/\">Yosemite Conservancy\u003c/a>, which is staffing its own centers in the park to field visitor questions and is continuing to run its art and guided tour programs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So for those inclined to donate money or time, you can find information online on how to help the nonprofit affiliate for your park of choice.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>NPCA is also urging park supporters to contact their members of Congress to call on them to pass a funding bill to keep the government open — and to support \u003ca href=\"https://www.appropriations.senate.gov/news/majority/senate-committee-approves-fy-2026-interior-and-environment-appropriations-bill\">a Senate bill that averts future funding cuts for parks. \u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "Parks advocates say: Plan ahead, pack out your trash and be prepared to cancel your trip to a national park right now.",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>More than a week in, the federal \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/government-shutdown\">government shutdown\u003c/a> has affected national parks in an often-confusing variety of ways.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While many \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12058291/san-francisco-national-parks-government-shutdown-bay-area-muir-woods-redwoods-fort-point\">National Park Service sites are fully open,\u003c/a> like \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12058592/alcatraz-island-is-open-again-after-several-false-starts\">Alcatraz\u003c/a>, other sites are completely closed during the shutdown — including \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12058298/at-muir-woods-tourists-heartbroken-over-national-park-closure-during-shutdown\">Muir Woods National Monument.\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And then, there are the other parks that remain technically open but with \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12058508/yes-yosemite-is-open-during-the-shutdown-but-with-lots-of-changes-for-visitors\">vastly reduced staffing levels and limited services\u003c/a>. What’s more, with many NPS staff furloughed, these parks’ websites are not being updated during the shutdown, making it even more difficult to find up-to-date information, especially for first-time visitors.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If you have plans to visit a national park soon — having secured a coveted camping Yosemite reservation, for example — it might feel hard right now to know what’s happening on the ground at parks, and how you can prepare for your trip.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>We talked to the experts, who shared what you should know about visiting national parks during the shutdown.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Jump straight to:\u003c/p>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"#ShouldIstillgotoaNationalParkduringtheshutdown\">Should I still go to a National Park during the shutdown?\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"#Willmyreservationbehonored\">Will my reservation be honored?\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"#HowwillIknowifatrailisopenorclosed\">How will I know if a trail is open or closed?\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"#HowcanIrecreateresponsibly\">How can I recreate responsibly?\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"#WhereelsecanIgoonmyvacation\">Where else can I go on my vacation?\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"#HowcanIsupportNationalParksrightnow\">How can I support National Parks right now?\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003ch2>\u003ca id=\"ShouldIstillgotoaNationalParkduringtheshutdown\">\u003c/a>Should I still go to a national park that’s open?\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>First things first — check whether the park you’re planning to visit \u003cem>is \u003c/em>actually open, as \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12058291/san-francisco-national-parks-government-shutdown-bay-area-muir-woods-redwoods-fort-point\">several parks have experienced something of a back-and-forth\u003c/a> with closing and opening in the last week.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If the park of your choice is open, make sure you know of any other closures that may still be in place within it, like bathrooms, parking lots, campsites and other amenities.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12059389\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12059389\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/YosemiteGetty2.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/YosemiteGetty2.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/YosemiteGetty2-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/YosemiteGetty2-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Visitors hike the Mist Trail toward Vernal Falls on Aug. 31, 2025, in the Yosemite National Park, California. \u003ccite>(Apu Gomes/Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>For example, \u003ca href=\"https://www.yosemite.com/current-conditions/\">Yosemite\u003c/a> has open gates but no rangers on duty at the entry to collect fees, and all visitor centers are locked. \u003ca href=\"https://www.nps.gov/goga/planyourvisit/park-status-during-2025-lapse.htm\">A full list of closures of Golden Gate National Recreation\u003c/a> sites in the Bay Area can be found here.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Remember that many national parks websites are not being updated during the shutdown. What’s more, communications staff for parks have been furloughed, with many only checking email for urgent safety issues — so updates to the public, including on social media, will be slow to get out.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Mark Rose, the \u003ca href=\"https://www.npca.org/articles/11003-parks-group-warns-shutdown-leaves-national-parks-open-and-unprotected-while\">National Parks Conservation Association’\u003c/a>s Sierra Nevada program manager, said his organization is encouraging visitors who \u003cem>can \u003c/em>change their plans to do so.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Canceling your trip isn’t just to protect the park, he said — but also because you may miss out on some attractions like visitor centers, ranger programs and museums that aren’t operating during the shutdown.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But, “if you have a reservation, or this is a once-in-a-lifetime trip and you’re flying across the country, we’re not going to say, ‘Don’t go to the park,’” Rose said. “If you are going to go, do everything you can to plan ahead and be prepared.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>However, he did warn against taking on a more risky adventure right now — like a multi-day backpacking trip — because staffing is low and response times may be delayed in an emergency.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As for more local and urban national park sites like those within the Bay Area, Chris Lehnertz, president and CEO of the Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy, said it’s OK to visit, but be sure to focus on minimizing damage.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I think people should continue to go to parks — \u003cem>and \u003c/em>they should be thoughtful visitors,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003ca id=\"Willmyreservationbehonored\">\u003c/a>Will my national parks reservation be honored?\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>It \u003cem>should \u003c/em>be. But if it isn’t, you may unfortunately have trouble finding out ahead of time.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Since the government shutdown on Oct. 1, reservations for NPS lands — like camping sites and backcountry permits — have been thrown into confusion, \u003ca href=\"https://www.reddit.com/r/JoshuaTree/comments/1nw8pmp/reservation_automatically_cancelled/\">with Reddit threads like this one\u003c/a> full of people struggling to find definitive answers on whether their reservations will be honored.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12058253\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12058253\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251001-NATIONAL-PARKS-SHUTDOWN-MD-04-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251001-NATIONAL-PARKS-SHUTDOWN-MD-04-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251001-NATIONAL-PARKS-SHUTDOWN-MD-04-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/251001-NATIONAL-PARKS-SHUTDOWN-MD-04-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A visitor peeks past the barriers at the entrance of Muir Woods National Monument in Marin County, California, which is closed as a consequence of the government shutdown on Oct. 1, 2025. \u003ccite>(Martin do Nascimento/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The simplest answer is that if the park is open, you can still go — and your reservation should still be valid. But Rose warned that due to reduced staff, there may be fewer rangers available to check that everyone is complying with the reservation system.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a worst-case scenario, this could mean there’s nobody to make sure someone isn’t taking your campsite, either inadvertently or deliberately.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>A message on \u003ca href=\"http://recreation.gov\">Recreation.gov\u003c/a>, which manages reservations for national parks, states that \u003ca href=\"https://www.recreation.gov/government-shutdown-info\">the agency isn’t able to keep track of current closures\u003c/a>, and that understaffing may, in fact, cancel your reservation even at a park that’s otherwise open.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Cory Goehring, outdoor programs manager and senior naturalist at nonprofit Yosemite Conservancy, said that while services are limited within the park, he’s heard that people are generally respecting reservations — and hasn’t seen reports of overcrowding or damage just yet.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Wilderness reservations for backcountry trips are still valid, Goehring said. But most wilderness centers — other than the one in Yosemite Valley — won’t have rangers there to help you register your trip ahead of time.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This means it’s important that you self-register your trip and let others know about your plans ahead of time in case of an emergency, Goehring said. You’ll also need to \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12058508/yes-yosemite-is-open-during-the-shutdown-but-with-lots-of-changes-for-visitors\">bring your own bear canister\u003c/a>, as rentals will not be available outside of Yosemite Valley, and be sure to abide by food storage regulations.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003ca id=\"HowwillIknowifatrailisopenorclosed\">\u003c/a>How will I know which trails are open in a park?\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>During the shutdown, those parts of parks that are already physically accessible are staying open. Think of it as “an open-air closure,” Lehnertz said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So while certain visitor centers and entire welcome areas are closed, including parking lots, many trails remain open and technically accessible.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12049693\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12049693\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/Fog-2.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/Fog-2.png 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/Fog-2-160x107.png 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/Fog-2-1536x1024.png 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Hikers explore Point Reyes shrouded in fog on July 20, 2025. \u003ccite>(Sarah Wright/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>So long as there’s no “closed” sign, these trails can be accessed, but Lehnertz noted that since you may find some areas are unexpectedly closed, be sure to respect any signs you \u003cem>do \u003c/em>see.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Basically, whether it’s at a park entrance or within the park itself, “don’t go past any sign that has the word ‘Closed’ on it,” urged Lehnertz.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She also warned that you could encounter slower response times if there’s an emergency due to reduced staffing, and amenities like bathrooms and trash cans may not be serviced as frequently.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003ca id=\"HowcanIrecreateresponsibly\">\u003c/a>How can I recreate responsibly?\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>“The most important thing to keep in mind is: these are public lands, and we all have a responsibility to tend to them,” Goehring said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While Yosemite remains open, he urged visitors to follow \u003ca href=\"https://www.nps.gov/yose/planyourvisit/lnt.htm\">Leave No Trace\u003c/a> principles by respecting the park’s natural and cultural sites.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Looking at the seven pillars of Leave No Trace, the very first one is to plan ahead and prepare,” he said. “That’s going to be the most important thing for people to do if they’re going to make their way to Yosemite.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11997996\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11997996\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/GETTYIMAGES-2021284785-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/GETTYIMAGES-2021284785-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/GETTYIMAGES-2021284785-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/GETTYIMAGES-2021284785-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/GETTYIMAGES-2021284785-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/GETTYIMAGES-2021284785-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/GETTYIMAGES-2021284785-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Upper Yosemite Fall is reflected in the Merced River at Swinging Bridge in Yosemite National Park on June 13, 2023. \u003ccite>(Tracy Barbutes/The Washington Post via Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>While the park’s website might not be fully up to date, Lehnertz recommended checking out the “\u003ca href=\"https://www.nps.gov/alca/planyourvisit/index.htm\">Plan Your Visit\u003c/a>” section to get advice ahead of your trip. Think about the timing of your visit, and what your bathroom and trash needs will be ahead of time. If you’re traveling with kids or pets, consider what their needs will be, too.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Most of all, don’t go off trails or damage the park, she reiterated.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A \u003ca href=\"https://yosemite.org/yosemite-during-the-government-shutdown/\">guide published by the Yosemite Conservancy\u003c/a> also urges visitors to stay patient, as “fewer staff means slower or reduced service.” Goehring recommends \u003ca href=\"https://www.nps.gov/yose/planyourvisit/upload/Yosemite-Guide-50-8-508V1.pdf\">downloading the park map and guide\u003c/a> ahead of time, since no one will be there to give directions at the entrance of the park.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Many parks have limited cell phone service, so the National Parks Conservation Association advises \u003ca href=\"https://www.npca.org/articles/7670-2025-park-visitation-prepare-for-the-unexpected\">bringing extra water and being especially careful to respect wildlife\u003c/a> during the shutdown.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>NPCA’s Rose urged visitors to \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12002429/california-camping-tahoe-yosemite-bears-safety-what-to-do-bear-spray\">store their food away from bears\u003c/a> and to be extra cautious about wildfires amid limited staffing to help guard against those hazards. “All it takes is one bad actor” to “undo decades of progress,” he warned.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So far, Lehnertz said, who works with national park sites in the Bay Area, “our community members are being very respectful of park resources.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>I want to stay away from national parks during the shutdown. \u003ca id=\"WhereelsecanIgoonmyvacation\">\u003c/a>Where can I go instead?\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>While some national parks are closed or operating with limited staff, California’s 280 state parks are all functional and operating as usual. That includes more than 340 miles of coastline, 970 miles of lake and river frontage and more than 15,000 campsites and 4,500 miles of trail, according to California State Parks spokesperson Adeline Yee.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When it comes to state-run alternatives to popular national parks in the Sierra, Yee particularly recommended \u003ca href=\"https://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=514\">Mono Lake Tufa State Natural Reserve\u003c/a> near the eastern entrance to Yosemite.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12046849\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12046849\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/MonoLakeGullsGetty1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1458\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/MonoLakeGullsGetty1.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/MonoLakeGullsGetty1-160x117.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/MonoLakeGullsGetty1-1536x1120.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A California gull soars above Mono Lake in Lee Vining, California, on July 18, 2011. \u003ccite>(Paul Chinn/The San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>For a taste of Gold Rush history and some very big trees, you can stop by \u003ca href=\"https://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=552\">Columbia State Historic Park\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=551\">Calaveras Big Trees State Park\u003c/a> near Yosemite’s western entrances, Yee said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And amid the changing fall colors, state parks even published its own list of autumn \u003ca href=\"https://www.parks.ca.gov/NewsRelease/1430\">recommendations to catch the best of the vibrant foliage, \u003c/a>which includes Bay Area parks like Angel Island, Henry Coe and Castle Rock state parks.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.parks.ca.gov/Find-a-Park\">See the list of all state parks within California\u003c/a> and take a look at \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12058291/san-francisco-national-parks-government-shutdown-bay-area-muir-woods-redwoods-fort-point\">KQED’s other recommendations for Bay Area landmarks\u003c/a> that aren’t affected by the shutdown, including the Presidio.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003ca id=\"HowcanIsupportNationalParksrightnow\">\u003c/a>How can I support National Parks right now?\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The NPCA estimates that parks \u003ca href=\"https://www.npca.org/articles/3590-what-a-federal-government-shutdown-means-for-national-parks\">could lose as much as $1 million per day\u003c/a> while not collecting entrance and other fees during the shutdown. That’s not even including the potential impacts to local economies — an estimated $80 million daily — that will lose their own revenue as visitorship pauses, the organization said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In addition to the nationwide nonprofit \u003ca href=\"https://give.nationalparks.org/site/Donation2?df_id=9065&9065.donation=form1&mfc_pref=T&s_subsrc=25D00WGG-X0G2X&utm_source=ck-ad&utm_medium=GG&utm_campaign=evg25&rc=CKNPF-SEARCH-GG-BRAND-US-X0G2X&g_acctid=334-377-6810&g_keyword=national%20parks%20foundation&g_network=g&g_adgroupid=144572029880&g_keywordid=kwd-354898249845&g_adtype=search&g_campaignid=18504611475&g_adid=727503475416&g_campaign=NPF+Paid+Search+-+Brand+-+EXACT&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=18504611475&gbraid=0AAAAADtLNwL-71r6J9kImJF9VCRDauhx7&gclid=CjwKCAjwup3HBhAAEiwA7euZunIHMAH9ENxAOcGigmLM09UNNMlQPeG-Ys4c40TxOpDgkUlICO2uexoCa98QAvD_BwE\">National Park Foundation\u003c/a>, every national park has its own nonprofit arm that organizes volunteers, runs bookstores and often fills gaps left by the National Park Service. Some of those groups are even using their own funds to keep parks open, like Lehnertz’s group, which is now \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12059259/san-franciscos-fort-point-will-partially-reopen-amid-national-parks-shutdown\">paying to keep Fort Point available to the public again\u003c/a> on weekends.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12029489\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12029489\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/CaliforniaPublicLandsGetty1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1335\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/CaliforniaPublicLandsGetty1.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/CaliforniaPublicLandsGetty1-800x534.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/CaliforniaPublicLandsGetty1-1020x681.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/CaliforniaPublicLandsGetty1-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/CaliforniaPublicLandsGetty1-1536x1025.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/CaliforniaPublicLandsGetty1-1920x1282.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A volunteer for the National Park Service welcomes visitors at the Exploration Center in Yosemite Valley, at Yosemite National Park on March 1, 2025. \u003ccite>(Laure Andrillon/AFP via Getty)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Plus, these organizations are still operating their own programs within national parks during the shutdown. These include the \u003ca href=\"https://yosemite.org/experience/outdoor-adventures/\">Yosemite Conservancy\u003c/a>, which is staffing its own centers in the park to field visitor questions and is continuing to run its art and guided tour programs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So for those inclined to donate money or time, you can find information online on how to help the nonprofit affiliate for your park of choice.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>NPCA is also urging park supporters to contact their members of Congress to call on them to pass a funding bill to keep the government open — and to support \u003ca href=\"https://www.appropriations.senate.gov/news/majority/senate-committee-approves-fy-2026-interior-and-environment-appropriations-bill\">a Senate bill that averts future funding cuts for parks. \u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"title": "Yes, Yosemite is Open During the Shutdown — But With Lots of Changes for Visitors",
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"content": "\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12057777\">The shutdown of the federal government\u003c/a> has brought \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12058291/san-francisco-national-parks-government-shutdown-bay-area-muir-woods-redwoods-fort-point\">the full or partial closure of many National Park Service sites\u003c/a> across California — including \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12058298/at-muir-woods-tourists-heartbroken-over-national-park-closure-during-shutdown\">Muir Woods\u003c/a>, where visitors on Wednesday were \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12058298/at-muir-woods-tourists-heartbroken-over-national-park-closure-during-shutdown\">met with locked gates\u003c/a>, and \u003ca href=\"https://www.nps.gov/alca/index.htm\">Alcatraz Island\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And the closures have many people, especially curious about the state’s most visited national park, asking: “Is Yosemite National Park open right now?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The quick answer is \u003ca href=\"https://www.yosemite.com/current-conditions/\">yes, Yosemite is still open to the public\u003c/a>. But because of the shutdown, many federal employees who staff the park aren’t working. That means many buildings, facilities and resources aren’t currently available in Yosemite, in a way that could have real consequences for a person’s visit.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://irma.nps.gov/Stats/SSRSReports/Park%20Specific%20Reports/Annual%20Park%20Recreation%20Visitation%20(1904%20-%20Last%20Calendar%20Year)?Park=YOSE\">Over 4 million people visited Yosemite last year\u003c/a>, and \u003ca href=\"https://irma.nps.gov/Stats/SSRSReports/Park%20Specific%20Reports/Monthly%20Public%20Use?Park=YOSE\">almost 12% of those made their trips in the month of October\u003c/a>. So if you’re one of those hoping to visit the park in the coming days, keep reading for what to know about visiting Yosemite National Park during the government shutdown — and how to stay safe doing so.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jump straight to:\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>\u003ca href=\"#Findingmapsandadvice\">Finding maps and advice\u003c/a>\u003c/strong>\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>\u003ca href=\"#Hotelandcampgroundreservations\">Hotel and campground reservations\u003c/a>\u003c/strong>\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>\u003ca href=\"#Wildernesspermits\">Wilderness permits\u003c/a>\u003c/strong>\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003ch2>There will be no rangers at the gates to meet you — or collect your entry fee\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Instead of being stopped and greeted by a park staffer at the Yosemite gates, you’ll now drive straight through. This means there’s nobody in those booths to collect your entry fee (\u003ca href=\"https://www.nps.gov/yose/planyourvisit/fees.htm\">usually $35 per vehicle\u003c/a>) or to offer you guidance on your visit — including timely updates on weather conditions and any road closures.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Such expert advice is helpful even for seasoned park-goers, and this is where the visitor centers \u003cem>outside\u003c/em> Yosemite really come in handy, said Kim Lawson, director of communications and content at the Yosemite Mariposa County Tourism Bureau.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11715469\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11715469\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2018/12/GettyImages-178312467-e1546294307457.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1281\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2018/12/GettyImages-178312467-e1546294307457.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2018/12/GettyImages-178312467-e1546294307457-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2018/12/GettyImages-178312467-e1546294307457-800x534.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2018/12/GettyImages-178312467-e1546294307457-1020x681.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2018/12/GettyImages-178312467-e1546294307457-1200x801.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Yosemite National Park. \u003ccite>(Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“What we’re recommending is visitors to stop in the gateway communities as they come through,” Lawson said, especially since the Yosemite Welcome Center in Yosemite Valley will be closed during the shutdown. Resources outside the park include:\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.yosemitethisyear.com/\">\u003cstrong>Visit Yosemite Madera County: Oakhurst Visitor Center\u003c/strong>\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>40343 Highway 41, Oakhurst, CA 93644\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Phone: 559.683.4636\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.yosemite.com/things-to-do/mariposa-county-visitor-center/\">\u003cstrong>Mariposa County Visitor Center\u003c/strong>\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>5158 California 140, Mariposa, CA 95338\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Phone: 209.966.2456\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.visittuolumne.com/\">\u003cstrong>Visit Tuolumne County Visitor Center\u003c/strong>\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>193 S Washington St., Sonora, CA 95370\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Phone: 800.446.1333 or 209.533.4420\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Lawson said visitors can also consult \u003ca href=\"https://www.yosemite.com/current-conditions/\">the Yosemite shutdown information\u003c/a> on the Yosemite Mariposa County Tourism Bureau’s website, which contains info taken from a call this week with Yosemite’s acting superintendent, Ray McPadden.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003ca id=\"Findingmapsandadvice\">\u003c/a>You should bring your own maps into Yosemite (which has very little phone signal)\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Lawson recommends either \u003ca href=\"https://www.yosemite.com/yosemite-mariposa-county-region/maps/\">downloading a map of the park on your phone\u003c/a> you can access offline, bringing a print-out from home or picking up a map at one of the visitor centers outside the park, “since they’re not handing them out at the gateway.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11970738\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11970738\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/12/GettyImages-1846156476-scaled-e1759449061670.jpg\" alt=\"state parks\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A welcome sign is seen at the Yosemite National Park on Dec. 13, 2023. \u003ccite>(Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu via Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>You can also \u003ca href=\"https://support.google.com/maps/answer/6291838?hl=en&co=GENIE.Platform%3DAndroid\">download Google Maps for offline GPS navigation\u003c/a>, although this navigation will not reflect live updates such as road closures or traffic.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Make sure you download any maps or information you need well ahead of entering Yosemite, where cellphone signal ranges from patchy to nonexistent. You might be able to find some signal in Yosemite Village itself, Lawson said.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>You’ll still be able to buy food in Yosemite\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The National Park Service’s concessionaire, \u003ca href=\"https://www.yosemitethisyear.com/account/yosemite-hospitality-dining-lodging-attractions-in-yosemite\">Yosemite Hospitality\u003c/a>, will continue operating its food and lodging services within the park.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>(If it’s your first time visiting Yosemite, prepare for higher-than-average prices at cafes and restaurants, given its location.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postID=news_12058291 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/GGBridgeGetty.jpg']\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003ca id=\"Hotelandcampgroundreservations\">\u003c/a>Hotel and campground reservations will be honored\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.travelyosemite.com/\">Yosemite Hospitality’s website confirms:\u003c/a> “If you have a reservation for lodging at The Ahwahnee, Yosemite Valley Lodge, Curry Village or Housekeeping Camp, your reservation will remain unchanged.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>The bathrooms are open and maintenance services are continuing\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>During the last government shutdown in December 2018 and January 2019, visitors \u003ca href=\"https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/national-parks-suffer-vandalism-overflowing-toilets-during-government-shutdown#:~:text=National%20parks%20suffer%20vandalism%2C%20overflowing,Wayne%20is%20your%20local%20station.\">reported overflowing bathrooms and unsanitary conditions \u003c/a>in Yosemite due to lack of staff. This time around, the National Park Service said that \u003ca href=\"https://www.yosemite.com/current-conditions/\">“sanitation facilities” will remain open \u003c/a>and that staff will still be performing maintenance.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But remember: Just because these services are technically continuing doesn’t mean they’ll necessarily be running at normal levels or on their regular service. You may consider packing extra hand sanitizer, soap and water just in case you encounter an unmaintained bathroom. If you bring wet wipes, remember to securely dispose of them or pack them out.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Emergency services will continue in Yosemite\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>While emergency services — like medical attention — aren’t being stopped in Yosemite during the shutdown, \u003ca href=\"https://www.doi.gov/sites/default/files/documents/2025-09/doi-nps-lapse-plan2025930508.pdf\">the Department of the Interior’s contingency plan for parks \u003c/a>makes clear these services could be limited during this period.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This is especially important to bear in mind if you’re attempting anything athletic within Yosemite or planning to be in the backcountry. Make sure you’re even more prepared than usual to take care of yourself in all circumstances: Check the weather, make sure you’re adequately dressed for the elements, bring a first-aid kit and figure out your communications plan between group members.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11997996\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11997996\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/GETTYIMAGES-2021284785-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/GETTYIMAGES-2021284785-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/GETTYIMAGES-2021284785-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/GETTYIMAGES-2021284785-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/GETTYIMAGES-2021284785-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/GETTYIMAGES-2021284785-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/GETTYIMAGES-2021284785-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Upper Yosemite Fall is reflected in the Merced River at Swinging Bridge in Yosemite National Park on June 13, 2023. \u003ccite>(Tracy Barbutes/The Washington Post via Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>\u003ca id=\"Wildernesspermits\">\u003c/a>Wilderness permits are still available but only on a self-serve basis\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>While\u003ca href=\"https://www.politico.com/news/2025/10/01/yosemite-government-shutdown-national-parks-00591258\"> Yosemite rangers were still personally handing out backcountry permits on Wednesday\u003c/a>, no new permits will be issued at this time, Lawson said — and a self-check-in system is now in place for existing permits.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Like many visitor centers within Yosemite, the park’s wilderness centers are closed. This means that anyone with an existing permit should pick it up at a self-registration station, which are located at:\u003c/p>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>Big Oak Flat Information Station\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Tuolumne Meadows Wilderness Center\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Hill’s Studio in Wawona\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Outside the Welcome Center in Yosemite Valley.\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003cp>You should pick up your permit at the station closest to your trailhead, Lawson said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Another thing to remember: There are no bear canister rentals available in Yosemite during the shutdown, meaning that anyone planning to enter the backcountry must come prepared with their own\u003ca href=\"https://www.nps.gov/yose/planyourvisit/containers.htm\"> approved bear canister\u003c/a>. You may also find bear canisters for sale outside the park.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>If you’re going to visit right now, protect the landscape as much as you can\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Previous government shutdowns have been grueling on national parks, even when some staffing remains in place.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11740797\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11740797\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2019/04/RS29765__FB-24-of-69-qut.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2019/04/RS29765__FB-24-of-69-qut.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2019/04/RS29765__FB-24-of-69-qut-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2019/04/RS29765__FB-24-of-69-qut-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2019/04/RS29765__FB-24-of-69-qut-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2019/04/RS29765__FB-24-of-69-qut-1200x800.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Joshua Tree National Park. \u003ccite>(Ashley Urdang/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>During the 2018–19 government shutdown, unsupervised visitors caused serious damage to Joshua Tree National Park, where pounds of trash accumulated, vehicles went off-road and \u003ca href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/29/us/joshua-tree-shutdown.html\">iconic Joshua trees were cut down\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At Yosemite this time around, “the staff is very, very limited,” stressed Lawson. “So it’s really helpful if guests come in aware and knowing, ‘Hey, I have an impact and how can I be a part of protecting this amazing, extraordinary place?’”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This means: Leave no trace, pack out your trash and stay patient with the park rangers that are still working unpaid through the shutdown. “That’s for all of us,” Lawson said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "Visitors to Yosemite right now will find open gates, but also a lack of rangers and facilities. Here’s what to know.",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12057777\">The shutdown of the federal government\u003c/a> has brought \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12058291/san-francisco-national-parks-government-shutdown-bay-area-muir-woods-redwoods-fort-point\">the full or partial closure of many National Park Service sites\u003c/a> across California — including \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12058298/at-muir-woods-tourists-heartbroken-over-national-park-closure-during-shutdown\">Muir Woods\u003c/a>, where visitors on Wednesday were \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12058298/at-muir-woods-tourists-heartbroken-over-national-park-closure-during-shutdown\">met with locked gates\u003c/a>, and \u003ca href=\"https://www.nps.gov/alca/index.htm\">Alcatraz Island\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And the closures have many people, especially curious about the state’s most visited national park, asking: “Is Yosemite National Park open right now?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The quick answer is \u003ca href=\"https://www.yosemite.com/current-conditions/\">yes, Yosemite is still open to the public\u003c/a>. But because of the shutdown, many federal employees who staff the park aren’t working. That means many buildings, facilities and resources aren’t currently available in Yosemite, in a way that could have real consequences for a person’s visit.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://irma.nps.gov/Stats/SSRSReports/Park%20Specific%20Reports/Annual%20Park%20Recreation%20Visitation%20(1904%20-%20Last%20Calendar%20Year)?Park=YOSE\">Over 4 million people visited Yosemite last year\u003c/a>, and \u003ca href=\"https://irma.nps.gov/Stats/SSRSReports/Park%20Specific%20Reports/Monthly%20Public%20Use?Park=YOSE\">almost 12% of those made their trips in the month of October\u003c/a>. So if you’re one of those hoping to visit the park in the coming days, keep reading for what to know about visiting Yosemite National Park during the government shutdown — and how to stay safe doing so.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jump straight to:\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>\u003ca href=\"#Findingmapsandadvice\">Finding maps and advice\u003c/a>\u003c/strong>\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>\u003ca href=\"#Hotelandcampgroundreservations\">Hotel and campground reservations\u003c/a>\u003c/strong>\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>\u003ca href=\"#Wildernesspermits\">Wilderness permits\u003c/a>\u003c/strong>\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003ch2>There will be no rangers at the gates to meet you — or collect your entry fee\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Instead of being stopped and greeted by a park staffer at the Yosemite gates, you’ll now drive straight through. This means there’s nobody in those booths to collect your entry fee (\u003ca href=\"https://www.nps.gov/yose/planyourvisit/fees.htm\">usually $35 per vehicle\u003c/a>) or to offer you guidance on your visit — including timely updates on weather conditions and any road closures.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Such expert advice is helpful even for seasoned park-goers, and this is where the visitor centers \u003cem>outside\u003c/em> Yosemite really come in handy, said Kim Lawson, director of communications and content at the Yosemite Mariposa County Tourism Bureau.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11715469\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11715469\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2018/12/GettyImages-178312467-e1546294307457.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1281\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2018/12/GettyImages-178312467-e1546294307457.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2018/12/GettyImages-178312467-e1546294307457-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2018/12/GettyImages-178312467-e1546294307457-800x534.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2018/12/GettyImages-178312467-e1546294307457-1020x681.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2018/12/GettyImages-178312467-e1546294307457-1200x801.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Yosemite National Park. \u003ccite>(Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“What we’re recommending is visitors to stop in the gateway communities as they come through,” Lawson said, especially since the Yosemite Welcome Center in Yosemite Valley will be closed during the shutdown. Resources outside the park include:\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.yosemitethisyear.com/\">\u003cstrong>Visit Yosemite Madera County: Oakhurst Visitor Center\u003c/strong>\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>40343 Highway 41, Oakhurst, CA 93644\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Phone: 559.683.4636\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.yosemite.com/things-to-do/mariposa-county-visitor-center/\">\u003cstrong>Mariposa County Visitor Center\u003c/strong>\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>5158 California 140, Mariposa, CA 95338\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Phone: 209.966.2456\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.visittuolumne.com/\">\u003cstrong>Visit Tuolumne County Visitor Center\u003c/strong>\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>193 S Washington St., Sonora, CA 95370\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Phone: 800.446.1333 or 209.533.4420\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Lawson said visitors can also consult \u003ca href=\"https://www.yosemite.com/current-conditions/\">the Yosemite shutdown information\u003c/a> on the Yosemite Mariposa County Tourism Bureau’s website, which contains info taken from a call this week with Yosemite’s acting superintendent, Ray McPadden.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003ca id=\"Findingmapsandadvice\">\u003c/a>You should bring your own maps into Yosemite (which has very little phone signal)\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Lawson recommends either \u003ca href=\"https://www.yosemite.com/yosemite-mariposa-county-region/maps/\">downloading a map of the park on your phone\u003c/a> you can access offline, bringing a print-out from home or picking up a map at one of the visitor centers outside the park, “since they’re not handing them out at the gateway.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11970738\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11970738\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/12/GettyImages-1846156476-scaled-e1759449061670.jpg\" alt=\"state parks\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A welcome sign is seen at the Yosemite National Park on Dec. 13, 2023. \u003ccite>(Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu via Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>You can also \u003ca href=\"https://support.google.com/maps/answer/6291838?hl=en&co=GENIE.Platform%3DAndroid\">download Google Maps for offline GPS navigation\u003c/a>, although this navigation will not reflect live updates such as road closures or traffic.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Make sure you download any maps or information you need well ahead of entering Yosemite, where cellphone signal ranges from patchy to nonexistent. You might be able to find some signal in Yosemite Village itself, Lawson said.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>You’ll still be able to buy food in Yosemite\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The National Park Service’s concessionaire, \u003ca href=\"https://www.yosemitethisyear.com/account/yosemite-hospitality-dining-lodging-attractions-in-yosemite\">Yosemite Hospitality\u003c/a>, will continue operating its food and lodging services within the park.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>(If it’s your first time visiting Yosemite, prepare for higher-than-average prices at cafes and restaurants, given its location.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003ca id=\"Hotelandcampgroundreservations\">\u003c/a>Hotel and campground reservations will be honored\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.travelyosemite.com/\">Yosemite Hospitality’s website confirms:\u003c/a> “If you have a reservation for lodging at The Ahwahnee, Yosemite Valley Lodge, Curry Village or Housekeeping Camp, your reservation will remain unchanged.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>The bathrooms are open and maintenance services are continuing\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>During the last government shutdown in December 2018 and January 2019, visitors \u003ca href=\"https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/national-parks-suffer-vandalism-overflowing-toilets-during-government-shutdown#:~:text=National%20parks%20suffer%20vandalism%2C%20overflowing,Wayne%20is%20your%20local%20station.\">reported overflowing bathrooms and unsanitary conditions \u003c/a>in Yosemite due to lack of staff. This time around, the National Park Service said that \u003ca href=\"https://www.yosemite.com/current-conditions/\">“sanitation facilities” will remain open \u003c/a>and that staff will still be performing maintenance.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But remember: Just because these services are technically continuing doesn’t mean they’ll necessarily be running at normal levels or on their regular service. You may consider packing extra hand sanitizer, soap and water just in case you encounter an unmaintained bathroom. If you bring wet wipes, remember to securely dispose of them or pack them out.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Emergency services will continue in Yosemite\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>While emergency services — like medical attention — aren’t being stopped in Yosemite during the shutdown, \u003ca href=\"https://www.doi.gov/sites/default/files/documents/2025-09/doi-nps-lapse-plan2025930508.pdf\">the Department of the Interior’s contingency plan for parks \u003c/a>makes clear these services could be limited during this period.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This is especially important to bear in mind if you’re attempting anything athletic within Yosemite or planning to be in the backcountry. Make sure you’re even more prepared than usual to take care of yourself in all circumstances: Check the weather, make sure you’re adequately dressed for the elements, bring a first-aid kit and figure out your communications plan between group members.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11997996\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11997996\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/GETTYIMAGES-2021284785-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/GETTYIMAGES-2021284785-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/GETTYIMAGES-2021284785-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/GETTYIMAGES-2021284785-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/GETTYIMAGES-2021284785-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/GETTYIMAGES-2021284785-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/07/GETTYIMAGES-2021284785-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Upper Yosemite Fall is reflected in the Merced River at Swinging Bridge in Yosemite National Park on June 13, 2023. \u003ccite>(Tracy Barbutes/The Washington Post via Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>\u003ca id=\"Wildernesspermits\">\u003c/a>Wilderness permits are still available but only on a self-serve basis\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>While\u003ca href=\"https://www.politico.com/news/2025/10/01/yosemite-government-shutdown-national-parks-00591258\"> Yosemite rangers were still personally handing out backcountry permits on Wednesday\u003c/a>, no new permits will be issued at this time, Lawson said — and a self-check-in system is now in place for existing permits.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Like many visitor centers within Yosemite, the park’s wilderness centers are closed. This means that anyone with an existing permit should pick it up at a self-registration station, which are located at:\u003c/p>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>Big Oak Flat Information Station\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Tuolumne Meadows Wilderness Center\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Hill’s Studio in Wawona\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Outside the Welcome Center in Yosemite Valley.\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003cp>You should pick up your permit at the station closest to your trailhead, Lawson said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Another thing to remember: There are no bear canister rentals available in Yosemite during the shutdown, meaning that anyone planning to enter the backcountry must come prepared with their own\u003ca href=\"https://www.nps.gov/yose/planyourvisit/containers.htm\"> approved bear canister\u003c/a>. You may also find bear canisters for sale outside the park.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>If you’re going to visit right now, protect the landscape as much as you can\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Previous government shutdowns have been grueling on national parks, even when some staffing remains in place.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11740797\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11740797\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2019/04/RS29765__FB-24-of-69-qut.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2019/04/RS29765__FB-24-of-69-qut.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2019/04/RS29765__FB-24-of-69-qut-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2019/04/RS29765__FB-24-of-69-qut-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2019/04/RS29765__FB-24-of-69-qut-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2019/04/RS29765__FB-24-of-69-qut-1200x800.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Joshua Tree National Park. \u003ccite>(Ashley Urdang/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>During the 2018–19 government shutdown, unsupervised visitors caused serious damage to Joshua Tree National Park, where pounds of trash accumulated, vehicles went off-road and \u003ca href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/29/us/joshua-tree-shutdown.html\">iconic Joshua trees were cut down\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At Yosemite this time around, “the staff is very, very limited,” stressed Lawson. “So it’s really helpful if guests come in aware and knowing, ‘Hey, I have an impact and how can I be a part of protecting this amazing, extraordinary place?’”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This means: Leave no trace, pack out your trash and stay patient with the park rangers that are still working unpaid through the shutdown. “That’s for all of us,” Lawson said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"title": "Middle School Students Celebrate Betty Reid Soskin, the Nation’s Oldest Park Ranger, at 104",
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"content": "\u003cp>At 104 years old, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/betty-reid-soskin\">Betty Reid Soskin\u003c/a> still commands a room.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As she entered her namesake \u003ca href=\"https://soskin.wccusd.net/\">middle school\u003c/a> in Contra Costa County on Monday, her 104th birthday, a hush came over the crowd of students awaiting her arrival.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Then came the cheers and singing: “Happy Birthday, Miss Betty!”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Before \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11910061/betty-reid-soskin-americas-oldest-park-ranger-retires-at-100\">her retirement in 2022\u003c/a>, Reid Soskin was the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/forum/201506101000/americas-oldest-park-ranger-brings-history-to-life-at-richmonds-rosie-the-riveter-park\">oldest park ranger in the country\u003c/a>, having started her career in the National Park Service at 85 at Richmond’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.nps.gov/rori/index.htm\">Rosie the Riveter World War II Homefront National Historical Park\u003c/a>. She retired from the park service at the age of 100.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As is now an annual tradition, Reid Soskin and her family stopped by the school for her birthday, where students and staff celebrated her. As she made her rounds, she and the students — generations apart — seemed to be awestruck in each other’s presence.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The East Bay middle school, formerly Juan Crespi Middle School, was \u003ca href=\"https://richmondstandard.com/community/education/2021/06/24/el-sobrante-middle-school-renamed-in-honor-of-betty-reid-soskin/\">renamed \u003c/a>in 2021 to honor Reid Soskin, who, Principal Jason Lau said, serves as a role model and an inspiration to the students.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Your legacy reminds us that it’s never too early or too late to make a difference,” he told Reid Soskin in front of the small crowd assembled in the school’s library for her party on Monday.\u003c/p>\n\u003cdiv class=\"mceTemp\">\u003c/div>\n\u003cp>While she doesn’t consider herself a “Rosie,” proclaimed a display documenting Reid Soskin’s life at the school’s library, Reid Soskin made her own contributions to the World War II effort at home in the Bay Area \u003ca href=\"https://www.nps.gov/rori/learn/historyculture/betty-reid-soskin.htm\">as a file clerk for shipyard workers in Richmond\u003c/a>. But she and her former husband — who would together go on to open \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13850266/reids-records-berkeley-gospel-mainstay-to-close-after-75-years\">Reid’s Records\u003c/a>, one of the first Black-owned record stores in Oakland and one of the oldest in the state before it \u003ca href=\"https://www.berkeleyside.org/2019/02/05/reids-records-californias-oldest-record-shop-to-close-in-the-fall\">closed\u003c/a> in 2019 — faced considerable racism, driving her into politics and civil rights work.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12057138\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12057138\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/09/20250922_BETTYREIDSOSKIN104TH_GC-12-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1300\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/09/20250922_BETTYREIDSOSKIN104TH_GC-12-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/09/20250922_BETTYREIDSOSKIN104TH_GC-12-KQED-160x104.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/09/20250922_BETTYREIDSOSKIN104TH_GC-12-KQED-1536x998.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Betty Reid Soskin signs a poster made by history students during her 104th birthday celebration at Betty Reid Soskin Middle School in El Sobrante on Sept. 22, 2025. \u003ccite>(Gina Castro/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>She would later lead the creation of the Richmond site, which opened in 2000. Thanks to her efforts, the museum \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12053628/richmond-rally-national-parks-trump-white-house-rosie-the-riveter-world-war-ii-homefront\">highlights the wartime contributions of the East Bay’s nonwhite residents\u003c/a> and the struggles they faced to win their own freedom at home.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Reid Soskin said it wasn’t until her mid-50s, after she experienced the loss of her father and two former husbands within the span of just three months, that her life took a turn toward political activism — and to fully embracing who she is.[aside postID=arts_13952570 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/Screenshot-2024-02-20-at-12.01.15-PM-1020x572.png']“I think I felt lost for a while,” she said. “I didn’t know that I was going to come back. And then I came back.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I came back as Betty, and I’ve been able to work as Betty ever since,” she continued. “I was defined by myself and that was really something.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Reid Soskin said working for the park service “was probably the best thing I ever did. I felt as if I were meant to be here, and I was doing exactly as I was intended to do.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>West Contra Costa Unified School District Superintendent Cheryl Cotton said she had the opportunity to see Reid Soskin at work as a park ranger when she and her son visited the Rosie the Riveter park as part of a school group.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I can’t imagine how many lives she’s touched and really inspired,” Cotton said. “I think that the world needs to know that great things come from Richmond. Great things come from our communities — and she is one of the greatest.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13952570/at-102-years-old-betty-reid-soskin-revisits-her-music-from-the-civil-rights-era\">But it’s Reid Soskin’s music\u003c/a> and songwriting that inspires eighth grader Farahzareh Parvar, who plays the flute.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12057136\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12057136\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/09/20250922_BETTYREIDSOSKIN104TH_GC-7-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/09/20250922_BETTYREIDSOSKIN104TH_GC-7-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/09/20250922_BETTYREIDSOSKIN104TH_GC-7-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/09/20250922_BETTYREIDSOSKIN104TH_GC-7-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Betty Reid Soskin speaks to media during her 104th birthday celebration at Betty Reid Soskin Middle School in El Sobrante on Sept. 22, 2025. \u003ccite>(Gina Castro/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“I do music myself, and I think I just look up to her,” Parvar said. Reid Soskin used her music to reflect on her life and her generation’s fight for civil liberties, but kept her songs private for nearly a half-century.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Reid Soskin said if today’s students take anything from her life’s story, it’s to keep pushing themselves and others forward.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I hope that they continue to ask questions, and that they never settle for the answers,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>At 104 years old, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/betty-reid-soskin\">Betty Reid Soskin\u003c/a> still commands a room.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As she entered her namesake \u003ca href=\"https://soskin.wccusd.net/\">middle school\u003c/a> in Contra Costa County on Monday, her 104th birthday, a hush came over the crowd of students awaiting her arrival.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Then came the cheers and singing: “Happy Birthday, Miss Betty!”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Before \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11910061/betty-reid-soskin-americas-oldest-park-ranger-retires-at-100\">her retirement in 2022\u003c/a>, Reid Soskin was the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/forum/201506101000/americas-oldest-park-ranger-brings-history-to-life-at-richmonds-rosie-the-riveter-park\">oldest park ranger in the country\u003c/a>, having started her career in the National Park Service at 85 at Richmond’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.nps.gov/rori/index.htm\">Rosie the Riveter World War II Homefront National Historical Park\u003c/a>. She retired from the park service at the age of 100.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As is now an annual tradition, Reid Soskin and her family stopped by the school for her birthday, where students and staff celebrated her. As she made her rounds, she and the students — generations apart — seemed to be awestruck in each other’s presence.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The East Bay middle school, formerly Juan Crespi Middle School, was \u003ca href=\"https://richmondstandard.com/community/education/2021/06/24/el-sobrante-middle-school-renamed-in-honor-of-betty-reid-soskin/\">renamed \u003c/a>in 2021 to honor Reid Soskin, who, Principal Jason Lau said, serves as a role model and an inspiration to the students.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Your legacy reminds us that it’s never too early or too late to make a difference,” he told Reid Soskin in front of the small crowd assembled in the school’s library for her party on Monday.\u003c/p>\n\u003cdiv class=\"mceTemp\">\u003c/div>\n\u003cp>While she doesn’t consider herself a “Rosie,” proclaimed a display documenting Reid Soskin’s life at the school’s library, Reid Soskin made her own contributions to the World War II effort at home in the Bay Area \u003ca href=\"https://www.nps.gov/rori/learn/historyculture/betty-reid-soskin.htm\">as a file clerk for shipyard workers in Richmond\u003c/a>. But she and her former husband — who would together go on to open \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13850266/reids-records-berkeley-gospel-mainstay-to-close-after-75-years\">Reid’s Records\u003c/a>, one of the first Black-owned record stores in Oakland and one of the oldest in the state before it \u003ca href=\"https://www.berkeleyside.org/2019/02/05/reids-records-californias-oldest-record-shop-to-close-in-the-fall\">closed\u003c/a> in 2019 — faced considerable racism, driving her into politics and civil rights work.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12057138\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12057138\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/09/20250922_BETTYREIDSOSKIN104TH_GC-12-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1300\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/09/20250922_BETTYREIDSOSKIN104TH_GC-12-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/09/20250922_BETTYREIDSOSKIN104TH_GC-12-KQED-160x104.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/09/20250922_BETTYREIDSOSKIN104TH_GC-12-KQED-1536x998.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Betty Reid Soskin signs a poster made by history students during her 104th birthday celebration at Betty Reid Soskin Middle School in El Sobrante on Sept. 22, 2025. \u003ccite>(Gina Castro/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>She would later lead the creation of the Richmond site, which opened in 2000. Thanks to her efforts, the museum \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12053628/richmond-rally-national-parks-trump-white-house-rosie-the-riveter-world-war-ii-homefront\">highlights the wartime contributions of the East Bay’s nonwhite residents\u003c/a> and the struggles they faced to win their own freedom at home.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Reid Soskin said it wasn’t until her mid-50s, after she experienced the loss of her father and two former husbands within the span of just three months, that her life took a turn toward political activism — and to fully embracing who she is.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>“I think I felt lost for a while,” she said. “I didn’t know that I was going to come back. And then I came back.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I came back as Betty, and I’ve been able to work as Betty ever since,” she continued. “I was defined by myself and that was really something.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Reid Soskin said working for the park service “was probably the best thing I ever did. I felt as if I were meant to be here, and I was doing exactly as I was intended to do.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>West Contra Costa Unified School District Superintendent Cheryl Cotton said she had the opportunity to see Reid Soskin at work as a park ranger when she and her son visited the Rosie the Riveter park as part of a school group.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I can’t imagine how many lives she’s touched and really inspired,” Cotton said. “I think that the world needs to know that great things come from Richmond. Great things come from our communities — and she is one of the greatest.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13952570/at-102-years-old-betty-reid-soskin-revisits-her-music-from-the-civil-rights-era\">But it’s Reid Soskin’s music\u003c/a> and songwriting that inspires eighth grader Farahzareh Parvar, who plays the flute.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12057136\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12057136\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/09/20250922_BETTYREIDSOSKIN104TH_GC-7-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/09/20250922_BETTYREIDSOSKIN104TH_GC-7-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/09/20250922_BETTYREIDSOSKIN104TH_GC-7-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/09/20250922_BETTYREIDSOSKIN104TH_GC-7-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Betty Reid Soskin speaks to media during her 104th birthday celebration at Betty Reid Soskin Middle School in El Sobrante on Sept. 22, 2025. \u003ccite>(Gina Castro/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“I do music myself, and I think I just look up to her,” Parvar said. Reid Soskin used her music to reflect on her life and her generation’s fight for civil liberties, but kept her songs private for nearly a half-century.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Reid Soskin said if today’s students take anything from her life’s story, it’s to keep pushing themselves and others forward.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I hope that they continue to ask questions, and that they never settle for the answers,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"info": "What kind of no sabo word is Hyphenación? For us, it’s about living within a hyphenation. Like being a third-gen Mexican-American from the Texas border now living that Bay Area Chicano life. Like Xorje! Each week we bring together a couple of hyphenated Latinos to talk all about personal life choices: family, careers, relationships, belonging … everything is on the table. ",
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"info": "The Political Mind of Jerry Brown brings listeners the wisdom of the former Governor, Mayor, and presidential candidate. Scott Shafer interviewed Brown for more than 40 hours, covering the former governor's life and half-century in the political game – and Brown has some lessons he'd like to share. ",
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"marketplace": {
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"info": "Our flagship program, helmed by Kai Ryssdal, examines what the day in money delivered, through stories, conversations, newsworthy numbers and more. Updated Monday through Friday at about 3:30 p.m. PT.",
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"info": "The MindShift podcast explores the innovations in education that are shaping how kids learn. Hosts Ki Sung and Katrina Schwartz introduce listeners to educators, researchers, parents and students who are developing effective ways to improve how kids learn. We cover topics like how fed-up administrators are developing surprising tactics to deal with classroom disruptions; how listening to podcasts are helping kids develop reading skills; the consequences of overparenting; and why interdisciplinary learning can engage students on all ends of the traditional achievement spectrum. This podcast is part of the MindShift education site, a division of KQED News. KQED is an NPR/PBS member station based in San Francisco. You can also visit the MindShift website for episodes and supplemental blog posts or tweet us \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/MindShiftKQED\">@MindShiftKQED\u003c/a> or visit us at \u003ca href=\"/mindshift\">MindShift.KQED.org\u003c/a>",
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"info": "For decades, the process for how police police themselves has been inconsistent – if not opaque. In some states, like California, these proceedings were completely hidden. After a new police transparency law unsealed scores of internal affairs files, our reporters set out to examine these cases and the shadow world of police discipline. On Our Watch brings listeners into the rooms where officers are questioned and witnesses are interrogated to find out who this system is really protecting. Is it the officers, or the public they've sworn to serve?",
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"politicalbreakdown": {
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"tagline": "Politics from a personal perspective",
"info": "Political Breakdown is a new series that explores the political intersection of California and the nation. Each week hosts Scott Shafer and Marisa Lagos are joined with a new special guest to unpack politics -- with personality — and offer an insider’s glimpse at how politics happens.",
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"possible": {
"id": "possible",
"title": "Possible",
"info": "Possible is hosted by entrepreneur Reid Hoffman and writer Aria Finger. Together in Possible, Hoffman and Finger lead enlightening discussions about building a brighter collective future. The show features interviews with visionary guests like Trevor Noah, Sam Altman and Janette Sadik-Khan. Possible paints an optimistic portrait of the world we can create through science, policy, business, art and our shared humanity. It asks: What if everything goes right for once? How can we get there? Each episode also includes a short fiction story generated by advanced AI GPT-4, serving as a thought-provoking springboard to speculate how humanity could leverage technology for good.",
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"pri-the-world": {
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"info": "Each weekday, host Marco Werman and his team of producers bring you the world's most interesting stories in an hour of radio that reminds us just how small our planet really is.",
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"radiolab": {
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"info": "A two-time Peabody Award-winner, Radiolab is an investigation told through sounds and stories, and centered around one big idea. In the Radiolab world, information sounds like music and science and culture collide. Hosted by Jad Abumrad and Robert Krulwich, the show is designed for listeners who demand skepticism, but appreciate wonder. WNYC Studios is the producer of other leading podcasts including Freakonomics Radio, Death, Sex & Money, On the Media and many more.",
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"reveal": {
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},
"rightnowish": {
"id": "rightnowish",
"title": "Rightnowish",
"tagline": "Art is where you find it",
"info": "Rightnowish digs into life in the Bay Area right now… ish. Journalist Pendarvis Harshaw takes us to galleries painted on the sides of liquor stores in West Oakland. We'll dance in warehouses in the Bayview, make smoothies with kids in South Berkeley, and listen to classical music in a 1984 Cutlass Supreme in Richmond. Every week, Pen talks to movers and shakers about how the Bay Area shapes what they create, and how they shape the place we call home.",
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},
"science-friday": {
"id": "science-friday",
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"info": "Science Friday is a weekly science talk show, broadcast live over public radio stations nationwide. Each week, the show focuses on science topics that are in the news and tries to bring an educated, balanced discussion to bear on the scientific issues at hand. Panels of expert guests join host Ira Flatow, a veteran science journalist, to discuss science and to take questions from listeners during the call-in portion of the program.",
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},
"snap-judgment": {
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"title": "Snap Judgment",
"tagline": "Real stories with killer beats",
"info": "The Snap Judgment radio show and podcast mixes real stories with killer beats to produce cinematic, dramatic radio. Snap's musical brand of storytelling dares listeners to see the world through the eyes of another. This is storytelling... with a BEAT!! Snap first aired on public radio stations nationwide in July 2010. Today, Snap Judgment airs on over 450 public radio stations and is brought to the airwaves by KQED & PRX.",
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