(KNX 1070) - Park rangers are back to work today at Joshua Tree National Park.
Some popular campgrounds were trashed during the shutdown. The park stayed open during the 35-day government shutdown.
Joshua Tree had its fair share of people who made a mess of campgrounds, went off-roading, and chopped down some 100-year-old Joshua trees.
John Lauretig, with the Friends of Joshua Tree, a volunteer group, tells KNX in the event of another government shutdown, he'll lobby for Joshua Tree part to be shut down.
"We just need to take care of these places that are so special because the damage that we have done, the off-road traffic, those kinds of road scars will be there for years, decades to come. And Joshua trees don't grow back overnight. It's open and fully staffed now, so there is interpretive rangers, maintenance folks and law enforcement rangers, the whole staff."
Earlier this month, the park had indicated it would temporarily close Thursday because of the partial government shutdown. Park officials dipped into fee money to cover the cost of keeping it open.
The park had been working with a skeleton crew and volunteers since the partial shutdown began.