Some of the most iconic photographs taken inside national parks during the partial government shutdown were of fallen Joshua trees inside Joshua Tree National Park.

One of those images, which showed a downed Joshua tree that had apparently been felled, was published in early January by the nonprofit publication National Parks Traveler.

The image was later seen by thousands online and used in stories from The Daily Mail, CNN and other news sites.

But that tree, which park officials believed was downed as a result of vandalism during the shutdown, was actually cut down before the shutdown, the park's superintendent told National Parks Traveler in a recent article.

"When park botanists were able to get to the site at a later date, they confirmed that this tree was in fact cut down prior to the shutdown," Superintendent David Smith told the publication.

"The park apologizes for any confusion this initial report may have caused," Smith added.

Smith did not respond to several requests for comment from The Desert Sun on Saturday.

New details about the tree photograph came after the park garnered national media attention as one of the places visually impacted during the government shutdown. At a rally in Joshua Tree after the shutdown ended, former Joshua Tree National Park Superintendent Curt Sauer said "what's happened to our park in the last 34 days is irreparable for the next 200 to 300 years."

The photo from National Parks Traveler, which updated its first story with an editor's note on Saturday, was not the only fallen Joshua tree image shared online during the shutdown.

Photos of another Joshua tree taken originally by The Los Angeles Times were circulated in various media reports, from the Huffington Post to The New York Times.

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Reports of damage inside the park emerged weeks into the shutdown.

Last month, Smith said park staff "documented three cases of Joshua trees being cut down or damaged during the shutdown." A January news release from the park also acknowledged incidents of "new roads being created by motorists."

In his comments to National Parks Traveler, Smith confirmed at least one Joshua tree was damaged.

"Joshua Tree science staff are currently working to assemble an accurate and detailed report documenting natural and cultural resource damage that occurred during the shutdown," he told the publication. "Botanists have confirmed that during the shutdown an out of bounds vehicle at Ryan Campground struck and killed at least one Joshua Tree."

During the shutdown, the surrounding community rallied to keep the park maintained by cleaning bathrooms, picking up trash in campgrounds, restocking toilet paper and taking trailers full of waste to the dump.

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"I feel that the local volunteers as well as our maintenance crews have done a great job taking care of the park, dealing with issues of damage and providing visitor services," Smith told The Desert Sun last month.



Cliffhanger Guides owners Seth Zaharias and Sabra Purdy were among the leaders spearheading volunteer efforts.

With so many people wanting to help, they started having a standing morning meeting at local gift shop Coyote Corner, just across the street from the park's west entrance visitors center.



"There is no way the park could have withstood the onslaught of humanity that is the Christmas/New Year's holiday without the efforts of volunteers," Purdy said in a Facebook message.

"I can't stress enough how bad it could have gotten," she added. "The reports of overflowing toilets and trash strewn across the desert in the media were quite overblown, but it definitely would have gotten there very quickly if people hadn't sprung into action."

Shane Newell covers breaking news and the western Coachella Valley cities of Palm Springs, Cathedral City and Desert Hot Springs. He can be reached at Shane.Newell@DesertSun.com, (760) 778-4649 or on Twitter at @journoshane.