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The U.S. government shutdown may be temporarily put on hold, but Joshua Tree National Park — the famed desert in California — is still feeling the pain, and could for years to come.

The 800,000-acre park stayed open during the 35-day partial government shutdown with many visitors taking advantage of the unstaffed entrance to skip the usual $30 fee, according to the National Park Service (NPS).

The road accessing Keys View is closed in Joshua Tree National Park, California, on Jan. 8, 2019. EPA/MIKE NELSON

Visitors drove over trees, toppled gates, camped illegally, defaced rocks with graffiti and left trash and human waste lying around, according to reports.

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During the shutdown, with Joshua Tree National Park open but no staff on duty, visitors cut down Joshua trees so they could drive into sensitive areas where vehicles are banned. "We had some pretty extensive four-wheel driving." https://t.co/EbSB4bF8hK pic.twitter.com/8kVFClVqxZ — John Upton (@johnupton) January 10, 2019

During the shutdown, NPS had threatened to close the park, after citing sanitation issues. But the park stayed open and officials said they used recreation fees to bring on more staffers to clean toilets and trash.

Some people even volunteered.

Wheelchair-bound Rand Abbott, 55, of Joshua Tree cleans a bathroom stall by himself in Joshua Tree National Park on Jan. 8, 2019, in Joshua Tree, California. Gina Ferazzi/Los AngelesTimes via Getty Images

On Friday, U.S. President Trump signed a short-term spending bill that will reopen the government until Feb. 15.

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Now staff and volunteers are left cleaning up garbage, wiping off graffiti and replanting trees that were cut down.

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A former superintendent at Joshua Tree, Chris Saur, told Business Insider that, “what’s happened to our park in the last 34 days is irreparable for the next 200 to 300 years.”

John Garder, a senior director at the National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA), added that some damage may be permanent.

Staff load trash onto a truck near Joshua Tree National Park in California, Jan. 6, 2019, in this picture obtained from social media. @lost.sasquatch/via REUTERS

Trash is seen on the bed of a truck near Joshua Tree National Park in California, Jan. 6, 2019, in this picture obtained from social media. @lost.sasquatch/via REUTERS

A sign posted on a Joshua Tree National Park restroom asks for donations towards the clean-up of the park on Thursday. Will Lester/MediaNews Group/Inland Valley Daily Bulletin via Getty Images

“Some damage can be repaired, but some things can be lost forever,” Garner told Business Insider, referencing the historical sites that were vandalized and artifacts that were stolen. The park is known for its rocky landscape and century-old trees, called Joshua Trees, where it gets its name from. Pictures posted to social media showed trees that were chopped down or driven over by cars. I don't care if you're a Democrat or Republican, what's going on at Joshua Tree National Park is a travesty to this nation. True Americans don't destroy and trash our National Parks just because no one's looking., only thugs and criminals do. https://t.co/KdWMCwXQZi pic.twitter.com/obhSgVf9N7 — AI6YR (@ai6yrham) January 10, 2019 Story continues below advertisement

John Lauretig, who runs Friends of Joshua Tree, a nonprofit group that organized a small army of volunteers to help clean the park during the shutdown, told the New York Times that replanting and growing the tree is going to take a long time.

“Because these trees are so big and they grow so slowly, it can take hundreds of years for a tree to mature,” he said. “We say they grow an inch a year, and in a wet year, it might grow five inches or a foot but in a dry year, it might not grow at all.”

A Joshua Tree against rock formation and blue sky at Joshua Tree National Park. Getty Images

— With a file from Reuters