During the government shutdown, vandals have targeted Utah’s Arches National Park, leaving unsightly graffiti and strewn toilet paper on its iconic rock formations. This act of defacement has been captured in photos shared by dismayed hikers, while regular park rangers find themselves either furloughed or confined to their homes.

Reactions on social media have been swift and emotional, with one Facebook user lamenting, “Breaks my heart. What is wrong with people?” Another simply expressed, “Sad,” echoing the sentiments of many.

This incident is part of a broader trend of vandalism affecting national parks across the country. Recently, a stone wall at Gettysburg’s Devil’s Den in Pennsylvania was toppled, and a significant fire broke out at a campground in Joshua Tree, California.

Allyson Mathis, a retired National Park employee, attributes this “heartbreaking” rise in vandalism to the unprecedented government shutdown. She speculates, “If rangers were out on patrol, people might not have felt that they could vandalize the area.” Mathis emphasized the vulnerability of Arches National Park, a sentiment she shared with Outside magazine.

Retired National Park worker Allyson Mathis said she believes the ‘heartbreaking’ vandalism is a direct result of the record-breaking government shutdown. 

‘If rangers were out on patrol, people might not have felt that they could vandalize the area,’ she told Outside magazine. ‘Arches is extremely vulnerable’. 

The Senate stalemate entered its 40th day on Sunday amid a fight over funding which has also impacted food assistance for millions of Americans and left 1.4 million federal workers, including park rangers, without pay.

Park rangers have been furloughed or forced to stay at home, leaving the country’s most beautiful and high-maintenance countryside spots unprotected. 

Vandals have left ugly graffiti and toilet paper across several iconic rocks at Utah ‘s Arches National Park as people take advantage of the government shutdown 

Horrified hikers have shared photographs of the destruction on the red rock vistas in the popular beauty spot, while park rangers are furloughed or forced to stay home

Arches National Park is home to more than 2,000 natural, red-hued, sandstone arches which tower over the picturesque desert landscape framed by jagged peaks

Under the Trump administration’s contingency plan, parks must stay open to the public – even with only a skeleton crew of staff left to protect their fragile resources. 

Mathis, 59, was dismayed to stumble across flagrant graffiti across several rocks at Arches National Park herself while hiking there on Wednesday. 

‘It was everywhere,’ she told Outside. ‘It was heartbreaking and upsetting, but unfortunately not surprising.’

Mathis snapped photographs of the graffiti as evidence, including one image where the ugly doodles are framed by the Landscape Arch – one of the most popular geological attractions in North America.

Arches National Park is home to more than 2,000 natural, red-hued, sandstone arches which tower over the picturesque desert landscape framed by jagged peaks. 

Daredevil base jumpers and climbers have also flocked to Yosemite National Park thanks to the government shutdown meaning park rangers aren’t on scene to prevent them from performing dangerous stunts.

Shocking videos surfaced on social media showing visitors parachuting from El Capitan vertical peak and climbing Half Dome’s cables without a safety permit.

‘It’s like the Wild Wild West,’ John DeGrazio, founder of the tour company YExplore Yosemite Adventures told SFGate of the carnage. 

DeGrazio added that base jumping from the park’s towering rock formations and illegal climbs are nothing new – but he said visitors have been taking their stunts to new heights this week.

‘This is different,’ DeGrazio said after viewing one Facebook post showing a climber making a dangerous, illegal ascent on the Half Dome rock formation. ‘These people are counting on no enforcement because of the shutdown’.

Yosemite National Park has been stormed by squatters and thrill-seekers who are scaling dangerous cliffs and leaping from mountain peaks (BASE jumper pictured) amid the government shutdown

Iconic landmarks across America are bearing the brunt of the closure, as nearly two-thirds of National Park Service workers have been furloughed without pay

In the California park, BASE jumping – leaping from fixed objects with a parachute – is illegal, but since the government closed its doors, the number of daredevils leaping from Yosemite’s El Capitan summit has dramatically increased (pictured) 

Local climber Charles Winstead, 57, shared an Instagram video last month capturing BASE jumpers floating down Yosemite’s iconic summit, soaring past cars and the sprawling wilderness below.

‘Base jumpers coming off El Cap in the middle of the day. Must be taking advantage of the government shutdown to get away with it,’ Winstead captioned the post.

In a second video shared the following day, Winstead captured another BASE jumper parachuting through the sky toward the vast rock formations towering in the distant valley.

‘More base jumpers!’ he wrote. ‘Definitely feeling some freedom to flout the rules due to the shutdown. Second group today.’

Winstead told the San Francisco Chronicle that he has witnessed at least a dozen BASE jumpers launching from El Capitan in broad daylight during just a few days.