Photo: Paul Chinn / The Chronicle
The temporary end of the government shutdown will give the National Park Service a chance to clean up and assess the damage to its 58 parks that were left virtually unsupervised for three weeks. Jon Jarvis, former National Park Service director under President Barack Obama and now executive director of UC Berkeley’s Institute for Parks, People, and Biodiversity, said he is concerned about the long-term impacts from bears getting into trash, wolves being poached, graffiti and other damage to sensitive resources. “Ultimately, this model of furloughing employees and leaving the parks open has been a disaster for the resources and for the public,” Jarvis said. “I think it was an abdication of their stewardship responsibilities.”
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