FROM FOX NEWS: Squatters have moved into Yosemite National Park’s campgrounds and rule-breakers are pushing boundaries as ranger patrols are stretched thin during the prolonged federal shutdown, according to a park employee who described growing disorder inside the park.
“There are lots of squatters in the campgrounds,” the employee told SFGATE. “There are lots of people that truly believe they can do whatever they want because of the lack of rangers. They’ve told us.”
The employee said only one wilderness ranger is currently working the entire park — and that person is technically a volunteer, not a National Park Service (NPS) employee.
However, the Department of the Interior, which oversees the NPS, told Fox News Digital that those claims are inaccurate.
“The National Park Service can confirm that the park remains appropriately staffed to ensure visitor safety and resource protection during the lapse in appropriations,” a spokesperson said.
“Law enforcement rangers and campground personnel continue to monitor visitor use, respond to incidents, and enforce park regulations,” the department said, adding that “reports suggesting that campgrounds are unmonitored or that widespread squatting is occurring are inaccurate.”
“Suggesting there is only one ranger is ludicrous,” officials said. “While we have sighted several individuals for camping in non-designated sites, it has been adequately addressed and those camp sites have been removed.”
Squatters take over Yosemite as shutdown leaves popular national park with few rangers: report https://t.co/SQTDiNOGEF
— Fox News (@FoxNews) October 15, 2025
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