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The National Park Service has said it is adapting operations to the latest CDC guidance and making decisions about closures on a park-by-park basis, but that outdoor spaces will remain open as long as they can comply with social distancing.

Social distancing means avoiding large gatherings and maintaining distance (6 ft) from others. While we're at it, remember to keep it at least 300 ft for larger wildlife.

Check park websites for the most up to date information regarding access and services.#SocialDistancing pic.twitter.com/BlqfvGflEO

— National Park Service (@NatlParkService) March 25, 2020

Advocates and former Park Service employees have criticized the administration's decision to waive entrance fees and encourage people to visit parks, saying there should have been more direct guidance earlier to close parks or direct people to less popular areas to prevent crowding.

Kevin Dahl, Arizona senior program manager for the National Parks Conservation Association, said he's hearing of the usual spring break crowds at Grand Canyon National Park, where local communities have called for the park to close, but the state is not under a shelter-in-place order like other parts of the country.

He said the best thing to do would be to close the Grand Canyon and other popular parks and redirect people who want to get outside to other public lands that are more spread out.

What to know about coronavirus:

\"It would be so much better if the federal government could do what it should do and manage these places in a way that people know they're safe when they're going there,\" Dah told ABC News. \"The South Rim of the Grand Canyon is no place to be right now.\"

Park Service spokesperson Alex Picavet said no decision has been made about whether they will close Grand Canyon National Park.

\"Discussions and evaluation of the conditions and operation is ongoing, using the decision factors we have been consistently applying to all of our operations, and information from the CDC and state and local health departments,” she said in a statement.

An Interior Department spokesperson said the National Parks Service is working closely with local health officials to decide what changes need to be made to national park operations and that the department would follow any additional CDC guidance.

ABC News' Elizabeth Thomas contributed to this report.

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