The Joshua Tree National Park, a popular park in Southern California, has been temporarily closed down.

According to the LA Times, “At Joshua Tree National Park, champagne bottles were left strewn on the desert floor on New Year’s morning, along with a prom dress. Someone had kicked one of the iconic trees, perhaps to see how sturdy it was. Human waste was piling up.”

That’s right. The reason why the park is closed is because of waste. Reports of vandalism in the park have also been an issue. Along with the Joshua Tree is Death Valley; their area also have the same issue with pollution. The closing has been in place for about two weeks, given the amount of waste that has been found in these parks. There were waterless bathrooms, where visitors can “relieve themselves” into a container. However, there weren’t any workers to pump out the waste, eventually contributing to the overflow.

The people allowed in the park are those with reservations between 9 a.m. and 6 p.m. Park officials have stated that any additional facilities in the Yosemite could be closed down. The decision is to ultimately have the Yosemite to be operating only in the day time to prevent further pollution.

“I think that it is the right call,” said Sandra Purdy, the co-owner of the Joshua Tree Park. “Once those pit toilets are full, the volunteers can’t really do anything about it. We have to get the toilets pumped before they can take any more stuff.”

The people who would normally come in to empty the facilities are not working because of the government shutdown.

Image courtesy of the latimes.com