Public lands could fall into disarray as a result of government shutdown: Advocates

The federal government shutdown could have noticeable impacts on the way public lands are managed, multiple experts told ABC News. The federal government shut down overnight on Wednesday, leading some conservationists to worry about the disarray that could result from a lack of staffing for federal land. Short-term impacts on public lands, such as national monuments, national conservation areas, and wilderness, include pileups of trash and human waste as well as vandalism due to a lack of adequate law enforcement, David Feinman, vice president of government affairs at the Conservation Lands Foundation, told ABC News. "You'll have the element there of little to no staff managing the land," Feinman said. The National Parks Service's shutdown plan states that parks roads, lookouts, trails and