With the House of Representatives set to vote on reopening the government without an extension of Affordable Care Act subsidies, the impact of the longest shutdown in history has seeped into everything from aviation to national parks.

Throughout October, both park visitors and National Park Service (NPS) staff reported seeing a rise in the number of people taking advantage of the decreased staff presence to attempt banned BASE jumps off cliffs like Yosemite’s El Capitan.

“There are lots of people that truly believe they can do whatever they want because of the lack of rangers,” a former NPS employee described to local outlet SFGate earlier this year.

The extreme form of parachute sport in which people jump from the edges of cliffs and buildings is banned across all of the country’s 63 national parks. If caught, violators could face a fine of up to $5,000 and a federal misdemeanor charge.

The “bear jam”: why we’re seeing it at so many national parks

While national parks known for their wildlife have always dealt with traffic problems around sites where they are present, the shutdown has exacerbated a problem that some national park workers have dubbed the “bear jam.”

Used to describe the pile-up that occurs both when bears and other wildlife block the road and when travelers cause the jam themselves by stopping the car outside a designated spot to take a picture of wildlife they encountered when driving, the “bear jam” has become an especially common situation in Yellowstone.

Related: Dangerous predator once thought extinct spotted at national park

Different roads running through the park straddling parts of Wyoming, Montana, and Idaho have seen a larger number of bear jams amid a dearth of staff both navigating traffic and specializing in animal control.

“The big glaring thing that’s missing right now is the lack of resource rangers,” Evan Stout, owner of the Yellowstone Wildlife Guide Company travel tour operator, said to SFGate. “The bear jams are pretty crazy. There is nobody overseeing those.”

Yellowstone National Park is known for its vast array of large wildlife.

Image source: Shutterstock

See a bear at a national park? Here’s what you need to know

Similar situations have also regularly popped up at Great Smoky Mountains in Tennessee and Grand Teton, south of Yellowstone in Wyoming. Both are known for their vast array of wildlife, including different types of brown, grizzly, and black bears.

While park visitors often react to encountering a bear on the road by stopping to take pictures, the official NPS guidance is to maintain a distance of at least 100 yards or 91 meters at all times.

More on travel:

  • Major airline launches surprising flight between Las Vegas and Paris
  • United Airlines CEO gives stark warning on Olympic Games
  • The highest rooftop in Barcelona is in a surprising place
  • US government issues sudden warning on Switzerland travel

If a bear sneaks up on a visitor unexpectedly, the best course of action is to stay as calm as possible and back away slowly to a safe distance.

“Seeing a bear in the wild is a special treat for any visitor to a national park,” the NPS writes on its webpage on bear safety. “While it is an exciting moment, it is important to remember that bears in national parks are wild and can be dangerous. Their behavior is sometimes unpredictable. Although rare, attacks on humans have occurred, inflicting serious injuries and death.”

Related: US government repeats travel warning saying to avoid country at all costs