National Parks Traveler Podcast
288 episodes - English - Latest episode: 5 days ago - ★★★★★ - 99 ratingsNational Parks Traveler is the world's top-rated, editorially independent, nonprofit media organization dedicated to covering national parks and protected areas on a daily basis.
Traveler offers readers and listeners a unique multimedia blend of news, feature content, debate, and discussion all tied to national parks and protected areas.
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Episodes
National Parks Traveler's Postcard From The Parks: Acadia
September 08, 2021 07:00 - 3 minutes - 2.9 MBAcadia National Park in Maine is a tourist magnet, a problem for those seeking a little solitude with the scenery at the park. Traveler Contributing Editor Kim O'Connell found that out first-hand during her family's visit there this summer, but did manage to find some quiet areas.
National Parks Traveler: A Conversation With The Yosemite Conservancy
September 05, 2021 12:00 - 48 minutes - 112 MBClimate change is readily apparent this year, generating surprising heat waves in the Pacific Northwest, scores of wildfires across the West, and an ongoing series of tropical storms and hurricanes spinning out of the Atlantic and barreling into the East and Gulf coasts of the United States. The effects of climate change aren’t absent from Yosemite National Park. To discuss some of those impacts, we reached out to Frank Dean, president and CEO of the Yosemite Conservancy, and Cory Goehring...
Audio Postcard From The Parks | Vegetative Invaders
August 31, 2021 09:00 - 5 minutes - 12.8 MBAcross the National Park System some 2 million acres have been invaded by non-native vegetation. At Glen Canyon National Recreation Area in Utah, crews physically cut down Russian olive trees and use Roundup to prevent regrowth of this invader.
National Parks Traveler: Wildfire In The National Park System
August 29, 2021 12:00 - 46 minutes - 105 MB2020 saw the largest fires on record burn in Rocky Mountain National Park, and this year Lassen Volcanic National Park has endured the flames of the Dixie Fire. To gain a better understanding of the wildfire situation in the West, and how climate change is affecting wildfires, we’re joined by Robin Wills, the National Park Service’s chief of fire and aviation for the Pacific West Region.
National Parks Traveler: News From Across The National Park System
August 22, 2021 12:00 - 55 minutes - 126 MBA lot is happening around the National Park System, from the nomination of a permanent director for the National Park Service and higher user fees in the parks to wildfires and ongoing crowds in some corners of the park system. National Parks Traveler's Kurt Repanshek, Kim O'Connell, and Lynn Riddick discuss those and other issues from around the park system.
National Parks Traveler: The Water-Starved West
August 15, 2021 12:00 - 39 minutes - 89.3 MBThe ongoing drought in the West has underscored how precious water is in that arid landscape. Photographer Colleen Miniuk explores the dilemma along the rivers that feed the Colorado watershed in a new book that is both a celebration and warning about water in the West.
National Parks Traveler: Restoring The River Of Grass
August 08, 2021 12:00 - 38 minutes - 88.2 MBHow is the restoration of “the river of grass,” the Everglades, coming along? Eric Eikenberg, president of The Everglades Foundation, discusses that topic on National Parks Traveler’s podcast.
National Parks Traveler: Going Underground At Mammoth Cave
August 01, 2021 12:00 - 39 minutes - 91.5 MBMammoth Cave National Park is a World Heritage Site and International Biosphere Reserve. It was designated a national park in 1926 and fully established and opened in 1941 -- 80 years ago. At 412 miles, the cave itself is nearly twice as long as any other known cave system. Geologists believe there may even be a couple more hundred miles of undiscovered passageways. The Traveler's Lynn Riddick takes us to Mammoth Cave and taps into insight and anecdotes from park personnel about the histo...
National Parks Traveler: Waiting For A National Park Service Director
July 25, 2021 12:00 - 45 minutes - 103 MBWhat has been your experience in the National Park System this year? Have you found lots of crowds, or has your experience been more enjoyable because you haven’t encountered scores of other visitors milling about? Today we're discussing crowding in the parks with Kristen Brengel of the National Parks Conservation Association and Phil Francis of the Coalition to Protect America’s national Parks. We’ll also discuss why the National Park Service still is without a Senate-confirmed director.
Audio Postcard From The Parks: World War I Memorial
July 21, 2021 09:00 - 4 minutes - 11.1 MBOne of the newest additions to the National Park System is the World War I Memorial in the District of Columbia. Traveler's Kurt Repanshek and Contributing Editor Kim O'Connell offer this short audio postcard from the site.
National Parks Traveler: Santa Monica Mountains Wildlife Corridor
July 18, 2021 12:00 - 48 minutes - 110 MBThrough the efforts of the #SaveLACougars campaign, tens of millions of dollars have been raised so far to build the world’s largest wildlife corridor over the 101 Freeway in Liberty Canyon, west of Los Angeles. Such a bridge would help protect mountain lions roaming the Santa Monica Mountains.
National Parks Traveler: Saving Santa Monica Mountains' Mountain Lions
July 11, 2021 12:00 - 53 minutes - 123 MBIn this, the first segment of a two-part series, the Traveler’s Lynn Riddick talks with Beth Pratt of the National Wildlife Federation to dig deep into the life of a mountain lion and find out why fragmented habitats are so destructive to their survival. They’ll also discuss the immense outpouring of support for urban wildlife conservation efforts in general and this corridor project in particular.
National Parks Traveler: A Fort McHenry Fourth Of July
July 04, 2021 12:00 - 34 minutes - 78.1 MBTo celebrate Independence Day and our hard-fought freedoms, National Parks Traveler’s Lynn Riddick takes on us a visit to Fort McHenry National Monument and Shrine to learn more about its history and the story behind the poem that was inspired by the Battle of Baltimore.
National Parks Traveler: Subpar Parks
June 27, 2021 12:00 - 37 minutes - 85.7 MBWhen traveling to a national park, not everything goes as planned. Maybe you’ve been disappointed about the crowds. Or maybe couldn’t find lodging. Or maybe you weren’t able to squeeze in everything you wanted to do. But have you ever found yourself complaining about scenery that you determined to be substandard…or dismissing the exact feature for which the park is known? Today the Traveler’s Lynn Riddick -- with voice talent courtesy of Susan Emerson and Stuart Eldridge -- talks to a g...
National Parks Traveler: Brewing Park Research And Understanding Visitation
June 20, 2021 12:00 - 48 minutes - 111 MBHow can aspiring scientists and researchers get a hand in conducting research in the National Park System? Ryan and Julie Sharp, who both spent time working for the National Park Service, raise funds to help college students hoping to conduct research in the parks. Ryan, a professor at Kansas State University, also discusses understanding visitor behavior in parks.
National Parks Traveler: Grand Canyon's Ailing River
June 13, 2021 12:00 - 19 minutes - 45.6 MBClimate change is here and greatly impacting our weather and long-term climatic trends. In the Southwest, it’s having a tremendous impact on water resources across the Colorado River watershed. Warming temperatures associated with climate change are affecting the Colorado River, and those impacts also are showing up in national parks along the river’s path. In this episode, we look at how the ailing river is impacting Grand Canyon National Park.
National Parks Traveler: The Plight Of National Scenic Trails
June 06, 2021 12:00 - 44 minutes - 103 MBGo take a hike. Wouldn’t that be a great escape this weekend? Some of my most enjoyable hikes have been along the Appalachian Trail. That path was easy to reach when I was growing up in New Jersey. Now based in Utah, the A.T. is a distant aspiration. Much closer are both the Continental Divide Trail and the Pacific Crest Trail. This is Kurt Repanshek, your host at National Parks Traveler. All three of those trails – the Appalachian Trail, Continental Divide Trail, and Pacific Crest Trail –...
National Parks Traveler: Is The National Park Service Struggling With Its Science Mission?
May 30, 2021 12:00 - 48 minutes - 112 MBThe National Park Service could be seen as one of the country’s most science-focused agencies, as it deals with all sorts of "ologies" – biology, paleontology, archaeology, sociology, ecology, cetology, bioecology, and, in light of the popularity of dark night skies, even planetology. But is science properly guiding its mission? Former Park Service scientists Michael Soukup and Gary Machlis discuss those questions.
National Parks Traveler: Discussing The Public Lands Rush
May 23, 2021 12:00 - 44 minutes - 101 MBKurt Repanshek and Joe Miczulski, whose friendship dates back more than 50 years, take time from their sea kayaking trip on Lake Powell at Glen Canyon National Recreation Area to discuss the recent rush to public lands by Americans yearning to get outdoors during the coronavirus pandemic.
National Parks Traveler Podcast: Threatened Grand Canyon
May 16, 2021 12:00 - 20 minutes - 47.6 MBAs glorious as Grand Canyon National Park is, the national park faces a number of significant issues. National Parks Traveler Editor Kurt Repanshek, along with Special Projects Editor Patrick Cone and Jess Repanshek, Traveler’s sound recording engineer, headed to the park in late April to get a better sense of some of the issues that park managers are grappling with and which could alter, possibly significantly, how we experience the canyon. The following podcast previews those issues.
National Parks Traveler: Yosemite For The First Time
May 09, 2021 12:00 - 1 hour - 138 MBYosemite National Park is one of the jewels in the crown of the National Park System. It has soaring walls of granite, feathery waterfalls, and high country that takes you into a transformative realm of nature. This week podcast writer/producer and Yosemite first-timer Lynn Riddick -- along with her traveling companion Michele Hogan -- take us on a trip to this national park, which offers more than 800 miles of hiking trails. They share their light-hearted impressions as they hike along th...
National Parks Traveler: Diving In The National Parks
May 02, 2021 12:00 - 1 hour - 143 MBThere’s a lot to see in our national parks and historic sites, including some pretty interesting things underwater. Lynn Riddick takes a look at the Submerged Resources Center, the arm of the National Park Service that locates underwater resources – whether sunken ships or planes, old ranches or train tracks, coral reefs or kelp forests -- then documents and interprets them. Always with an eye toward their preservation. And with 3.5 million acres of Park Service land underwater, it’s an imme...
National Parks Traveler: Westward Expansion Through Fort Laramie
April 25, 2021 12:00 - 35 minutes - 82.1 MBSearching for the door that opened Westward Expansion? Find yourself at Fort Laramie National Historic Site in eastern Wyoming. The history to find across the historic site's grounds, its restored buildings, and in the surrounding countryside, is deeper than first glance might indicate. It's not just a military relic. Fort Laramie truly was an iconic milepost in the nation's history.
National Parks Traveler: Walking The Grounds Of Fort Laramie
April 18, 2021 12:00 - 38 minutes - 87.8 MBFort Laramie National Historic Site is a rare, overlooked outpost in the National Park System. It's not the only 19th century fort in the system, but it is richly steeped in Western history, from the fur trappers and the cavalry to the Oregon Trail and the Pony Express. During a recent visit, Kurt Repanshek and Fort Laramie Ranger Clayton Hanson walked the grounds. In this week's episode, they started at the approximate site of original Fort William and headed over to the sutler's store.
National Parks Traveler: Emergency Medicine In National Parks
April 11, 2021 12:00 - 36 minutes - 82.9 MBIt’s a sound you instantly recognize, and one you hope isn’t coming to your location. It’s the wailing siren of an ambulance responding to an emergency. In the National Park System during the height of summer, the sound can be very familiar. Kevin Grange, a seasonal paramedic in the parks, discusses his job. It’s a conversation that will leave you with a better understanding and appreciation for the vital role these individuals serve in seeing that national park visitors who are injured or ...
National Parks Traveler: A Cape Hatteras Conversation
April 04, 2021 12:00 - 51 minutes - 119 MBHow is life on Cape Hatteras National Seashore these days? We sat down with Superintendent Dave Hallac for a wide-ranging conversation about the national seashore, touching on topics ranging from beach access to wildlife and even pirates.
National Parks Traveler: Reviving Capitol Reef's Orchards
March 28, 2021 12:00 - 58 minutes - 135 MBAt Capitol Reef National Park, you’ll find 100 acres of orchards and pastures, most of which were established more than 100 years ago by Mormon settlers and where present-day park visitors are still invited to pick and eat the fruit. Over the years, about 1,000 trees have been lost to poor soils, disease, and old age. The Traveler’s Lynn Riddick reached out to two park officials to get some historic perspective on the orchards…and the details of the substantial rehabilitation project.
National Parks Traveler: An Acadia National Park Conversation
March 21, 2021 12:00 - 40 minutes - 93.7 MBJust off the coast of Maine lies anchored the oldest national park east of the Mississippi, a park with an artistic flair and blue blood in its founding. Though Acadia National Park is small, coming in around 35,000 acres, it plays much bigger, as they might say in golf. You can explore more than 40 miles of bucolic carriage roads, hike to the top of Cadillac Mountain, search tide pools for marine life at low tide, or kayak the waters surrounding Mount Desert Island. Kurt Repanshek sits do...
National Parks Traveler: Great Smoky's Wildlife Corridors
March 14, 2021 13:00 - 51 minutes - 117 MBGreat Smoky Mountains National Park is an ideal place to see bear, elk and other mammals, large and small. But too often the place these wild animals are seen most is dead along the side of Interstate 40 in the Pigeon River Gorge, victims of a fragmented habitat combined with an increasing number of motor vehicles. A collaborative effort to study wildlife mortality from motor vehicle collisions and find solutions for wildlife to safely cross this winding highway along the Pigeon River outs...
National Parks Traveler: Traveler's Calendar and Supporting Wind Cave Bison
March 07, 2021 13:00 - 45 minutes - 105 MBContributing editor Kim O’Connell joins me to discuss some of the stories from across the country that we’re working on at the Traveler and will be rolling out on the Traveler in the weeks and months ahead. And Lynn Riddick has a short story about a unique fundraiser that’s giving Wind Cave National Park new tools to manage and learn about the genetically pure bison herd there.
National Parks Traveler: Rebuilding Coral Reefs At Dry Tortugas National Park
February 28, 2021 13:00 - 53 minutes - 122 MBCoral is a foundation species, one that creates the habitats that support biodiversity and provides essential shoreline protection. The waters of Dry Tortugas National Park are home to some 30 species of coral. One type –- Elkhorn Coral -- rises above the rest, literally and figuratively, for its importance in the region. It also happens to be the most threatened. A team from the U.S. Geological Survey looked into whether Elkhorn Coral grown in nursery conditions could be transplanted i...
National Parks Traveler: Yellowstone Needs And Successes, Big Cypress Drilling
February 21, 2021 13:00 - 47 minutes - 109 MBThis week we our conversation with Yellowstone National Park Superintendent Cam Sholly on the state of his park. We discuss efforts to greatly reduce the number of invasive lake trout in Yellowstone Lake, Yellowstone’s infrastructure needs, and some of the conservation projects park staff is working on. And we also voice Traveler’s position that the National Park Service needs to conduct an environmental impact statement, not a less rigorous environmental assessment, on plans to drill for oi...
National Parks Traveler: Yellowstone's Covid Storm, Drilling For Oil In Big Cypress
February 14, 2021 13:00 - 38 minutes - 88.3 MBAs Covid-19 swept across the country last year, it created challenges for the National Park Service. Once parks opened, people flocked to them. But many parks were short of staff. Yellowstone National Park Superintendent Cam Sholly discusses the challenges his staff faced with Covid. Plus, Alison Kelly from the Natural Resources Defense Council brings us up to speed on a proposal to drill for oil in Big Cypress National Preserve.
National Parks Traveler: The State Of National Park Philanthropy
February 07, 2021 13:00 - 44 minutes - 103 MBWhat’s the state of national park philanthropy? The outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic a year ago impacted nonprofit organizations that work to support national parks. Many organizations that rely on retail sales for revenues had to close their outlets and layoff staff. How are things today?
National Parks Traveler: The Ioway Tribal National Park
January 31, 2021 13:00 - 48 minutes - 111 MBThe country’s largest tribal national park has been authorized and is now in the early stages of development. The Ioway Tribal National park will sit on 564 acres along the Missouri River on the border of Nebraska and Kansas. The Traveler’s Lynn Riddick spoke with a tribe member who is on the front lines in the development of the park. He shared his thoughts about the park, how it will help the Iowa Tribe of Kansas and Nebraska… and the history it will honor.
National Parks Traveler: New River Gorge's New Name, And Expanded Saguaro
January 24, 2021 13:00 - 43 minutes - 99.4 MBWhat drove the name change for New River Gorge National River and how does the expansion of Saguaro National Park benefit the park? We discuss those issues this week with Joy Oakes and Kevin Dahl from the National Parks Conservation Association.
National Parks Traveler: Searching For The Missing In National Parks
January 17, 2021 13:00 - 41 minutes - 94.4 MBThis week we’re talking search and rescue in the National Park System. Each year, there are thousands of search-and-rescue incidents logged across the park system. The Intermountain Region of the National Park Service is the largest in the agency, and is home to many of the most beautiful, and dangerous, national parks. Yellowstone has boiling waters and grizzly bears, Grand Canyon has that deep canyon, and Rocky Mountain has alluring, and rugged, backcountry. We’re joined by search and ...
National Parks Traveler: Endangered Species And The ESA
January 10, 2021 13:00 - 37 minutes - 85 MBIn this week’s show, our 100th podcast, we take a look at endangered and threatened species that call the National Park System home and the legal battles that swing to and fro over gaining them Endangered Species Act protections. Joining me for this discussion is Noah Greenwald, the endangered species director for the Center for Biological Diversity.
National Parks Traveler: A Perspective On Hiking The Appalachian Trail
January 03, 2021 13:00 - 59 minutes - 137 MB2021 marks 100 years since forester and planner Benton MacKaye conceived a trail connecting farmlands, mountain ranges, camps and towns along the Appalachian Mountain range. Sixteen years later, the Appalachian Trail was completed. Each year an estimated 3 million people take to the trail. In honor of this anniversary, Lynn Riddick met up with one A.T. enthusiast who has experienced the colossal physical and mental challenges of tackling the entire trail…and its immense rewards.
National Parks Traveler: Reviewing 2020 In National Parks
December 27, 2020 13:00 - 50 minutes - 115 MBIn this, our last episode for 2020, we look back on the past 12 months in the parks with Phil Francis of the Coalition to Protect America’s National Parks and Kristen Brengel from the National Parks Conservation Association. And we also take a peek at the task ahead for the Biden administration in the realm of parks and public lands.
National Parks Traveler: Saving, And Losing, Structures At Cape Lookout
December 20, 2020 13:00 - 46 minutes - 107 MBYear after year, a little more of the visual history of Cape Lookout National Seashore on the Outer Banks of North Carolina is lost. Hurricanes and nor’easters take their toll on the structures in two small villages there, slowly erasing the reminders of what was once a thriving shipping and fishing hub. The Traveler’s Lynn Riddick spoke with Cape Lookout National Seashore superintendent Jeff West to learn about the efforts to save whatever historic structures they can.
National Parks Traveler: Counting Birds For The Holidays
December 13, 2020 13:00 - 45 minutes - 104 MBThis week’s show is going to the birds. Counting, birds, that is, what with the annual Audubon Christmas Bird Count officially kicking off Monday and running through January 5. We sat down with Geoff LeBaron, who long has overseen the annual count for the National Audubon Society, to discuss the program.
National Parks Traveler: Canada's Glorious Parks
December 06, 2020 13:00 - 46 minutes - 106 MBIf you’re a truly devoted national parks traveler, you don’t let political boundaries get in your way when you consider which national park to visit. With that in mind, we’re going to look north to Canada and the incredible parks overseen by Parks Canada. There are some great destinations there, whether you’re a young family traveling with kids, wildlife watchers looking for bison or birds, or more experienced travelers looking for a wild backcountry experience.
National Parks Traveler: Wonders Of Sand And Stone, Utah's Parks And Monuments
November 29, 2020 13:00 - 38 minutes - 87.1 MBFrederick Swanson is a Salt Lake City writer who long has studied public lands issues in Utah, and his latest book delves into the history of the state's national parks and monuments. In our show he discusses the motivation that spurred "Wonders of Sand and Stone, A History of Utah’s National Parks and Monuments."
National Parks Traveler: The Raucous Crab Island Party At Gulf Islands
November 22, 2020 13:00 - 50 minutes - 115 MBGulf Islands National Seashore is developing a Commercial Services Strategy for Crab Island due to the raucous partying that goes on there. Lynn Riddick discusses the matter with Gulf Islands Superintendent Dan Brown.
National Parks Traveler: Glacier Bay, Wildfires, And Rocky Mountain Conservancy
November 15, 2020 13:00 - 57 minutes - 131 MBEstee Rivera, executive director of the Rocky Mountain Conservancy, discusses the damage wildfires inflicted on Rocky Mountain National Park and the role the conservancy is taking in helping park staff rehabilitate areas impacted by the fires and interpret the intense fire season. And Kurt Repanshek visits with Kim Heacox, a former park ranger turned writer and photographer at Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve in Alaska.
National Parks Traveler: Chesapeake's Bald Eagles And National Parks
November 08, 2020 13:00 - 42 minutes - 97.1 MBDr. Bryan Watts, an authority on bald eagles, discusses his research that indicates that bald eagles that utilize national park lands around the Chesapeake Bay may have a slight advantage over those that use the bay’s other estuarine systems.
National Parks Traveler Episode: Pre-Election Round Table On The Parks
November 01, 2020 12:00 - 50 minutes - 116 MBHow might the 2020 presidential election impact the National Park Service? Former Park Service Director Jon Jarvis, Kristen Brengel from the National Parks Conservation Association, and Phil Francis, chair of the Coalition to Protect America’s National Parks, discuss that question.
National Parks Traveler: Beluga Whales And The Pebble Mine
October 25, 2020 12:00 - 39 minutes - 90.8 MBNational Parks Traveler’s Lynn Riddick connects with Dr. Tracy Romano of Mystic Aquarium in Connecticut to discuss the plight of beluga whales in Cook Inlet in Alaska and the threats they face, including the threats posed by the proposed Pebble Mine project.
National Parks Traveler: The Wilderness Land Trust
October 18, 2020 12:00 - 35 minutes - 81.1 MBThis week we look at a nonprofit organization whose sole existence is to acquire, from willing sellers, private lands surrounded by official, or proposed, wilderness in national parks, national forests, and other publicly owned lands. Once those lands are acquired and transferred to federal land managers, The Wilderness Land Trust will put itself out of business. But that’s not going to happen overnight, as the Trust’s executive director, Brad Borst, explains during our conversation.