More graffiti, weeds and animals: Look at how National Park sites changed in pandemic

National parks are documenting what the coronavirus is doing inside the public lands, and it’s allowed for more weeds, graffiti and animals roaming around.

People have been forced to stay at home as the pandemic lingers, and they have few options for getting out of the house.

In many cases, national parks across the country have closed their gates to visitors. Few have remained open with social distancing and public health requirements in place.

Several National Park officials, however, have been documenting on social media what the shutdowns have meant for their parks.

In some cases, parks and monuments have seen increases in vandalism, illegal dumping and graffiti, social media posts show.

At Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area, park officials received 13 reports of incidents of graffiti, broken doors and windows, cut locks and other damage to structures in the area, according to the Special Agent NPS Instagram account. Last year, there were only two cases of vandalism reported during the same period. One photo showed a whole disheveled couch dumped near the brook.

“⁣Vandalism hurts,” the park said on Instagram. “These incidents damage park resources and they take staff away from other important duties that serve the public.”

Camp Rock at City of Rocks National Reserve in Idaho also saw “the worst case of vandalism in the park’s history,” according to the Idaho Statesman. Superintendent Wallace Keck told the newspaper that two to six people were involved in the vandalism, which involved spray painted tags all over the historic rock formations.

“A lot of people care about what has happened and have been coming forward with tips and helpful hints,” Keck told the Statesman.

Other parks have seen excessive traffic and crowds, as well as litter, scattered throughout the parks.

“Please help us prevent Cuyahoga Valley National Park from looking like this and consider enjoying this beautiful day near home,” the Ohio park said on Twitter with photos of crammed parking lots and trash. “If you visit, avoid crowds, hike clockwise, take trash with you.”

Some public lands, however, have seen the impact of people staying home and less foot traffic throughout the park.

At the National Mall in Washington, D.C., some memorials are showing what happens when thousands of people aren’t walking on the lands.

Weeds began growing through the cracks in the concrete at the World War II Memorial, monument officials said on Twitter.

“The significant decrease in visitor feet has led to a previously unseen sight — weeds and grass growing through the memorial plaza!” National Mall National Park said. “But maintenance of our nation’s sacred memorials continues, even during these unusual times.”

Several parks have also spotted animals enjoying the fresh air without people packing the parks, McClatchy News reported. At California’s Yosemite National Park, bears and coyotes have roamed around spaces that would usually be overrun by humans, according to McClatchy News.

“It’s not like they aren’t usually here,” Dane Peterson told the Los Angeles Times of the bears, bobcats and coyotes that he and other park employees see. “It’s that they usually hang back at the edges, or move in the shadows.”

This story was originally published May 8, 2020 at 2:51 PM with the headline "More graffiti, weeds and animals: Look at how National Park sites changed in pandemic."