US NPs, tourism businesses face uncertainty as government shutdown looms

It’s wedding season at Acadia National Park in Maine, and Tabitha Brown can barely keep up with the demand for her “luxury picnics” — champagne and charcuterie served seaside.

The fall rush around Acadia helps workers survive winter’s lean months. But that’s all at risk if a government shutdown forces America’s national parks and monuments to lock their gates, scuttling millions of vacations and school trips, and costing tourist towns from the Everglades to Yellowstone to Death Valley an estimated $70 million a day.

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/09/28/us/national-parks-shutdown.html

Investigative report details "chaos, destuction" when NPs forced to stay open during last shutdown

By the time superintendent David Smith decided to close Joshua Tree national park on 7 January 2019, the list of problems was already long. Tire tracks wove through the wilderness mapping a path of destruction where rare plants had been crushed and trees toppled. Charred remains of illegal campfires dotted the desert, and historic cultural artifacts had been plundered. Trash piles were growing, vault toilets were overflowing and park security workers were being pushed to their limits.

It was week three in what would become the longest shutdown of the US government, and the famed California park was feeling the consequences of operating without key staff, services and resources.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/sep/28/trump-david-bernhardt-joshua-tree-government-shutdown-national-parks

Study: PAs slow declines in vertebrate populations by factor of 5 compared to unprotected areas

Protecting large swaths of Earth's land can help stem the tide of biodiversity loss—including for vertebrates like amphibians, reptiles, mammals and birds, according to a study published in Nature Sept. 27.

The study, led by the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center (SERC) and Conservation International, emphasizes the importance of proper governance for the success of protected lands, and offers much-needed support for the United Nations' "30 by 30" initiative to conserve the world's biodiversity.

https://phys.org/news/2023-09-biodiversity-loss-vertebrates.html