Happy New Year 2024 (and sorry for the forum being offline some hours) /DM
Vulnerable Joshua trees in Joshua Tree National Park in California have been cut down by visitors who illegally drove into areas where vehicles are banned during the partial government shutdown. As a result, the park is closed indefinitely, its superintendent said Thursday. Joshua trees already face threats of extinction from climate change. https://mobile.twitter.com/johnupton/status/1083387896403505153... now-former Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke ordered to keep the national parks open during the shutdown
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ent
As the standoff marches through its fourth week, government researchers who study living things face mounting challenges.On top of the missed paychecks, the canceled trips to scientific conferences and the deadlines that loom despite the forced time off, scientists at the USDA and other federal agencies have plants, animals, insects and microbes to worry about."When the government shuts down, it's not a case of, 'Well, you just turn the lights off and lock the door,' " said Bob Peterson, an entomologist at Montana State University and president of the Entomological Society of America. "You can't do that with living organisms."Across the country, millions of fish are treading water in hatcheries run by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. At one location, essential staff have scrambled to collect data on behalf of furloughed scientists who are in the midst of a multiyear experiment