Park Trespassers Given Tickets During Shut Down

JACKSON, Wyo. (AP) — National Park Service rangers in Yellowstone and Grand Teton national parks have been issuing trespassing citations to people being found in the closed parks.

Grand Teton park spokeswoman Jenny Anzelmo-Sarles says the park has issued nine citations. Yellowstone spokesman Al Nash says a few citations have been issued there. The national parks closed last week after Congress and the White House deadlocked over spending priorities and the new health care law.

Anzelmo-Sarles tells the Jackson Hole News & Guide that people cited for trespassing in Grand Teton included cyclists, runners and drivers taking vehicles around temporary barricades. In addition to closure violations, she says rangers have issued citations for taking a vehicle off-road and for resource damage.