How the government shutdown could kill bears


The government shutdown is having some very smelly consequences.
National parks have seen their toilets and trash cans overflow since the Interior Department's funds ran out late last year. And in less than a month, that shutdown has undone years of work that kept bears and other wildlife healthy, National Geographic reports.
Despite most national parks technically being closed during the shutdown, there are no paid employees on the grounds to stop visitors from coming. Bypassing entrance fees, parkgoers have gone off authorized trails and camped in unsafe areas. They've also overflowed trash cans and pit toilets, creating a danger to human and animal health.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Beyond the obvious dangers of raw sewage, animals have also been tempted by the human food that's no longer being cleaned up. "For the past couple of decades, the park service has worked hard to wean the black bear population from human food," says former National Park Service Director Jon Jarvis. But now, it's likely bears and coyotes will again start associating humans with food, increasing "the risk that an animal could attack or have to be euthanized," he tells National Geographic.
Unauthorized campers at Yosemite National Park reported bears pushing against their cars and trailers last week, and one made it into some trash, per the Los Angeles Times. It's all shaping up to create problems that could "last generations" or perhaps never be fixed, a director at the National Parks Conservation Association tells National Geographic.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Kathryn is a graduate of Syracuse University, with degrees in magazine journalism and information technology, along with hours to earn another degree after working at SU's independent paper The Daily Orange. She's currently recovering from a horse addiction while living in New York City, and likes to share her extremely dry sense of humor on Twitter.
-
Africa could become the next frontier for space programs
The Explainer China and the US are both working on space applications for Africa
-
Video games to curl up with this fall, including Ghost of Yotei and LEGO Party
The Week Recommends Several highly anticipated video games are coming this fall
-
‘Peak consumption has become the Holy Grail of the energy debate’
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Florida erases rainbow crosswalk at Pulse nightclub
Speed Read The colorful crosswalk was outside the former LGBTQ nightclub where 49 people were killed in a 2016 shooting
-
Trump says Smithsonian too focused on slavery's ills
Speed Read The president would prefer the museum to highlight 'success,' 'brightness' and 'the future'
-
Trump to host Kennedy Honors for Kiss, Stallone
Speed Read Actor Sylvester Stallone and the glam-rock band Kiss were among those named as this year's inductees
-
White House seeks to bend Smithsonian to Trump's view
Speed Read The Smithsonian Institution's 21 museums are under review to ensure their content aligns with the president's interpretation of American history
-
Charlamagne Tha God irks Trump with Epstein talk
Speed Read The radio host said the Jeffrey Epstein scandal could help 'traditional conservatives' take back the Republican Party
-
CBS cancels Colbert's 'Late Show'
Speed Read 'The Late Show with Stephen Colbert' is ending next year
-
Shakespeare not an absent spouse, study proposes
speed read A letter fragment suggests that the Shakespeares lived together all along, says scholar Matthew Steggle
-
New Mexico to investigate death of Gene Hackman, wife
speed read The Oscar-winning actor and his wife Betsy Arakawa were found dead in their home with no signs of foul play