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In an April 3 memo, the National Park Service's chief epidemiologist warned that keeping parks open creates significant public health risks. "Continued NPS visitation not only threatens our workforce, but uniquely enhances COVID-19 risks in the neighboring communities and visitors and increases the risk of negative outcomes for all," stated the memo, obtained by Type Investigations and Sierra.
While many major parks have closed in recent weeks after sustained outcry from local communities and officials, more than 200 parks remain open. Interior Secretary David Bernhardt has offered no national guidance during the pandemic, instead leaving public health and operations decisions to each park superintendent. "The DOI response has been dangerously uneven and contradictory,” said a veteran Park Service employee. “I would just describe it as chaos."
Putting a fine point on the consequences of leaving parks open during the coronavirus pandemic, the memo states, “We can say with absolute certainty that leaving our parks open to the public when social distancing is not being practiced, onboarding employees originating from throughout the country and world, and permitting significant shared housing environments will result in a significantly greater burden of disease and death than if we had taken the proactive measure to continue to close these parks and/or limit operations.”
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The thud you heard was the sound of the US rig count falling flat on its face.”
