Yosemite: Still a Great Place

My brother visited Yosemite last week

The government shutdown has produced reports of lawless behavior at Yosemite National Park. The Interior Dept. calls these reports "fake news":

Officials at the U.S. Department of the Interior are now challenging the idea that the park has been left vulnerable during the federal shutdown. And while the National Parks Conservation Association told SFGATE that 50% of Yosemite’s employees are currently furloughed, officials with the Interior Department are saying that staffing levels are adequate to handle unlawful incidents taking place during the shutdown.

However, according to SFGate

What’s changed, according to sources who have lived and worked around the park for decades, is that visitors are taking advantage of the shutdown and becoming more brazen in their pursuit of illegal activities.

Climbers have been dealing with BASE* jumpers launching off El Capitan for decades, Ken Yager, president and founder of the Yosemite Climbing Association, said in a phone call. In some cases, they come very close to the climbers, and, “It’s terrifying,” he said. Normally, they do this in the early morning or right at dusk, when darker skies make them less likely to get caught, Yager continued, and some even time their jumps to coincide with ranger shift changes.

What’s different now, he said, is that people are BASE jumping in broad daylight, which is probably safer and certainly more scenic. “Maybe they’re getting a little bolder now, because of what they’ve been hearing about the park,” he said. “But you know, those guys better be careful, because it’s still illegal and there’s still law enforcement.”

*Grok: BASE jumping is an extreme sport where individuals leap from fixed structures—Buildings, Antennas, Spans (bridges), and Earth (cliffs)—and deploy a parachute to safely land. The acronym "BASE" represents these four types of launch points.

Comments:
1) The libertarian in me isn't bothered by unauthorized BASE jumping, unless it jeopardizes the safety of climbers and other park goers. Surely most participants don't wish to hurt others and will follow posted guidelines.
2) Park staffing is inadequate to handle mass lawlessness in normal times. If sizeable numbers of people come to Yosemite because they believe they won't get caught breaking rules, they would be right, shutdown or not.
3) My brother went to Yosemite last week. He had a great trip, and nothing untoward occurred. Also, there were no entrance fees or rangers due to the shutdown. Granted, his experience is only anecdotal, and is about as generalizable as videos of peaceful Portland neighborhoods and the absence of homeless tents in parts of San Francisco.