Outside: “…To recap, counter to previous practice, most of the big-name parks have been kept open during the current federal government shutdown. But 80 percent of park service employees have been furloughed, leaving our natural treasures protected by a skeleton crew of park police and other first responders. No one is collecting entry fees, no one is guiding tourists, no one is clearing snow or plowing the roads, and no one is pumping out pit toilets, which have reportedly begun overflowing. Trash is being cleared only by a few volunteer organizations, in only a few popular locations.  Yosemite National Park is just one example of how bad things are right now. That park is reportedly experiencing visitation levels that are maxing out the park’s capacity, even while only 50 of the usual 800-plus staff are on-site. There’s human poop everywhere and a man died at Nevada Fall on Christmas day, reportedly after allowing his dog off-leash in an area where pets are banned…”