In a controversial decision, the National Parks Service (NPS) in unison with the California's Animal Protection and Relocation Institute of Laguna (APRIL), a huge 2800 hectare section of California wilderness will be closed from all public access, effective immediately.

This translates to over 200 miles of the Pacific Crest Trail closed, making it impossible for any hikers to complete an official thru-hike from this day forward.

John Blisterfoot of APRIL comments, "We understand the inconvenience this may cause to hikers, but the White Footed Weasel has been an important icon in California, much the same as the Grizzly Bear. The protection of the Weasel has been the main focus of APRIL, so much so that this decision has been dubbed APRIL-1"