National Parks Traveler Podcast
297 episodes - English - Latest episode: 15 days ago - ★★★★★ - 102 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: Expanding The National Park System And Winter Park Destinations
January 05, 2020 13:00 - 58 minutes - 133 MBMichael Kellett, the executive director of RESTORE: The North Woods, discusses a campaign to see the size of the National Park System roughly tripled to more than 182 million acres. And Traveler contributing editor Erika Zambello and Becky Lomax, author of Moon’s USA National Parks, the Complete Guide to All 59 Parks, join Kurt Repanshek to discuss their favorite winter national park destinations.
National Parks Traveler: Looking Back At The National Parks In 2019
December 29, 2019 13:00 - 46 minutes - 106 MBThe past year brought many news-making events to the National Park System. It started, of course, with the partial government shutdown that created more than a few problems for the park system, the continued lack of a Senate confirmed director of the National Park Service, hurricanes inflicting damage on coastal parks, and construction of a border wall in Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument that possibly destroyed some archaeological sites there. To help us look back on 2019 and the national...
National Parks Traveler: Threatened and Endangered National Parks
December 22, 2019 13:00 - 38 minutes - 87.3 MBWith many national parks across the country in trouble from such myriad threats as climate change, overcrowding, energy exploration, invasive species, and poor air quality, National Parks Traveler’s new “Threatened and Endangered Parks” lists identify parks that are struggling to retain the very essence that led to their inclusion in the National Park System in the first place. In this week's show, Phil Francis of the Coalition to Protect America's National Parks and Mark Wenzler from the N...
National Parks Traveler: Invasive Species Plague Parks, And Photogenic Parks
December 15, 2019 13:00 - 44 minutes - 102 MBHow big of a problem are invasive animal species in the National Park System? This week we examine the topic of invasive animal species – think Burmese pythons in Everglades National Park, wild hogs in Great Smoky Mountains National Park, and even feral cats at Cape Hatteras National Seashore – and how the National Park Service is trying to tackle the problem. Traveler's staff looks at some of the most photogenic destinations in the National Park System. And we include some surprise locations.
National Parks Traveler: Longest Terrestrial Migrations, Jean LaFitte National Historical Park
December 08, 2019 13:00 - 41 minutes - 93.8 MBKyle Joly, a National Park Service wildlife biologist who long has studied terrestrial migrations in national park units in Alaska, discusses the world's longest land migrations in this week's show. Caribou and reindeer are at the top of the list of long-distance travelers, but what about wolves? Contributing writer Kim O’Connell, fresh back from a visit to New Orleans, gives us a preview of her time at Jean LaFitte National Historical Park and Preserve. 1
National Parks Traveler: Yellowstone's Grizzly Bears, Visiting Fort Matanzas National Monument
December 01, 2019 13:00 - 45 minutes - 103 MBHow are Yellowstone National Park's grizzly bears faring? Kerry Gunther, the park's bear expert, joins the Traveler this week to discuss the current state of grizzlies in the park and whether their population is growing or dropping. Erika Zambello takes listeners on a short audio trip to Fort Matanzas National Monument in Florida.
National Parks Traveler: Addressing The Backlog, Out In The Parks, Spaceport Secrecy
November 24, 2019 13:00 - 54 minutes - 125 MBJohn Garder, senior director of budget and appropriations for the National Parks Conservation Association, discusses congressional action on legislation to address the roughly $12 billion in backlogged maintenance needs across the National Park System. Becky Lomax, author of Moon USA National Parks, discusses what she's seeing in the parks in terms of that maintenance backlog, and we share thoughts about efforts to build a commercial spaceport just west of Cumberland Island National Seashore.
National Parks Traveler: Counting Saguaros, Off-Season At Cumberland Island
November 17, 2019 13:00 - 45 minutes - 105 MBWhile there's concern that one day Joshua trees might no longer grow in Joshua Tree National Park, or that Glacier National Park might lose its rivers of ice, what about Saguaro National Park and its iconic cacti? Kurt Repanshek travels to Saguaro National Park to discuss the decadal survey of saguaros with park biologist Don Swann. Erika Zambello heads to coastal Georgia for an off-season visit to Cumberland Island National Seashore.
National Parks Traveler: Yellowstone wolves, National Parks of Lake Superior, Winter Migrations
November 10, 2019 13:00 - 57 minutes - 132 MBThis week Doug Smith, who heads Yellowstone National Park’s Wolf Project, discusses how successful the park’s wolf recovery program has been. We also visit with the executive director of the National Parks of Lake Superior Foundation to discuss the five national park units the foundation works with, and end with a look at fall and winter migrations across the National Park System.
National Parks Traveler: Afghan Snow Leopards, Protecting Nature, Virgin Islands National Park
November 03, 2019 12:00 - 48 minutes - 112 MBErika Zambello and Dr. Alex Deghan, the CEO and co-founder of Conservation X Labs, an organization working to end human-induced extinction, discuss the first national parks in Afghanistan and the challenges to preserve them in a war zone. We also outline a Senate resolution to protect a much larger slice of nature in the United States than is currently being done, and highlight a winter’s visit to Virgin Islands National Park.
National Parks Traveler: NPS's Fiscal Fitness, Rockets Over Cumberland Island, Death Valley Winter
October 27, 2019 12:00 - 53 minutes - 123 MBTwo professors, one from Harvard, the other from Colorado State University, studied the National Park Service's fiscal condition, and came up with some suggestions for improving it. Professor Linda Bilmes discusses those opportunities with Traveler. We also look at possible impacts to Cumberland Island National Seashore from a proposed spaceport, and end this week's podcast with thoughts of visiting Death Valley National Park this winter.
National Parks Traveler: The Elephant Queen, WNPA Honors, Bryce Canyon In Winter
October 20, 2019 12:00 - 46 minutes - 107 MBFilmmakers Mark Deeble and Victoria Stone discuss their documentary, The Elephant Queen, which follows the matriarch of an elephant herd as she leads them from the “kingdom,” a lush landscape during the rainy season, to “the refuge,” where a reliable water hole slakes their thirst, came together. National Parks Traveler is honored by the Western National Parks Association, and we close with a look at a winter visit to Bryce Canyon National Park.
National Parks Traveler: Florida Panther Genes, Big Bend In Winter, Campground Improvements
October 13, 2019 12:00 - 38 minutes - 87.7 MBHow did the infusion of Texas puma genes into the small population of Florida panthers in Everglades National Park and Big Cypress National Preserve benefit the panthers? Alexander Ochoa, a postdoctoral researcher at The Ohio State University, explains in this week's show. We also look at Big Bend National Park as a winter destination, and question a proposal to let for-profit businesses take over more national park campgrounds.
National Parks Traveler: Everglades' Tribes, Questionable Park Management
October 06, 2019 12:00 - 46 minutes - 107 MBErika Zambello talks with Houston Cypress of the “Love the Everglades Movement” about priorities for the tribes that have connections to the Everglades and using art to connect people to the River of Grass and Big Cypress. Professor John Freemuth, who holds the Cecil D. Andrus Endowed Chair for Environment and Public Lands at Boise State University, discusses some of the seemingly unprecedented actions and decisions being taken by the Interior Department and National Park Service.
National Parks Traveler: Washington's National Park Fund, Point Reyes Cattle, Looking For Wildlife This Fall
September 29, 2019 12:00 - 52 minutes - 119 MBLaurie Ward, executive director of Washington’s National Park Fund, discusses how her organization manages to support not just one, but three national parks. Ken Brower, son of the late David Brower, offers his take on whether ranching should be allowed at Point Reyes National Seashore, and we point out where in the National Park System you can find wildlife this fall.
National Parks Traveler: Breaching Cape Lookout, Glacier's Unpredictable Glaciers, Wintering Voyageurs
September 22, 2019 12:00 - 43 minutes - 99.3 MBHurricane Dorian literally sliced up Cape Lookout National Seashore, creating more than 50 breaches in the park's barrier islands. At Western Carolina University, Professor Rob Young says the hurricane's damage was astonishing. How that damage will impact recreation on the seashore remains to be seen. Traveler also discusses this summer's uproar over glacial predictions at Glacier National Park, and invites a winter visit to Voyageurs National Park.
National Parks Traveler: Is Fall Moving, Bahama Parrots, Erasing The M
September 15, 2019 12:00 - 47 minutes - 108 MBHow is climate change affecting fall colors? Stephanie Spera, an assistant professor of geography at the University of Richmond and a 2019 Second Century Stewardship fellow at the Schoodic Institute at Acadia, is using citizen science to help answer that question. Erika Zambello wonders how Hurricane Dorian affected the Abaco parrot (aka the Bahama parrot) and its habitat, and we get a quick update on legislation to cut deeply into the roughly $12 billion maintenance backlog across the Natio...
National Parks Traveler: Hiker Trash, Fishing Great Smoky Mountains National Park, And "Acting" Directors
September 08, 2019 12:00 - 44 minutes - 102 MB"Hiker Trash," a new book that examines hiker life along the Appalachian Trail through the sketches of a graphic artist, is the topic of our interview with author Sarah Kaizar. We also look at the fisheries of Great Smoky Mountains National Park, and comment on the long-running vacancy of a permanent director of the National Park Service.
National Parks Traveler: Refugia At Acadia, Fall Park Destinations, And eBikes
September 01, 2019 12:00 - 48 minutes - 110 MBHow will climate change impact plants and animals at Acadia National Park? This week we talk with Dr. Jennifer Smetzer, who has been mapping areas of the park that could serve as refugia for many native species. We also take some time to look at some great park destinations for fall.
National Parks Traveler: Seven Months in the National Parks, Visiting Joshua Tree
August 25, 2019 12:00 - 46 minutes - 107 MBLauren and Steven Keys wanted to see national parks, so they took seven months off from the daily routine and headed out on a 34,000-mile journey that took them through the National Park System. We ask them how they did this, what they saw, and how they afforded it. We also take a look at visiting Joshua Tree National Park, and raise a question of why the National Park Service continues to pursue capital projects when it struggles under a roughly $12 billion maintenance backlog.
National Parks Traveler Episode: Blue Ridge Parkway Needs, Acadia's Falcons, And Black Canyon Of The Gunnison
August 18, 2019 12:00 - 48 minutes - 111 MBAs with many units of the National Park System, there are many needs along the Blue Ridge Parkway, a 469-mile-long ribbon of bucolic landscape linking Shenandoah and Great Smoky Mountains national parks. And without the Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation, many of those needs would go wanting and fall into neglect. To understand those needs, we reached out to Carolyn Ward, CEO of the foundation. Erika Zambello also spends a little time this week discussing Acadia National Park's falcons, and we ...
National Parks Traveler: Segregation In The Parks, Exploring Everglades In Winter
August 11, 2019 12:00 - 44 minutes - 102 MBDr. Erin Devlin, a professor of American history from the University of Mary Washington in Fredericksburg, Virginia, discusses her research into sites in national parks in Virginia that were associated with segregation during the first half of the 20th century. Host Kurt Repanshek takes a look at Everglades National Park and why it's a great park destination during the winter months.
National Parks Traveler: eBikes In National Parks And Dutch Oven Cooking
August 04, 2019 12:00 - 38 minutes - 88.6 MBeBikes are among the topics making the rounds in the National Park System, as the debate over where these motorized bikes should be allowed to travel. Those cycles, and topics ranging from the lack of a permanent director of the National Park Service are among the topics Traveler discusses this week with Kristen Brengel, vice president of government affairs for the National Parks Conservation Association, and Phil Francis, chair of the Coalition to Protect America's National Parks. We also t...
National Parks Traveler Episode: Condors, Snail Kites, And Rockweed
July 28, 2019 12:00 - 43 minutes - 99 MBHow are California condors doing in Zion National Park, and what about snail kites at Everglades National Park? We take a look at those two bird species in this week's show. And we visit the Schoodic Peninsula of Acadia National Park to catch up on some research into rockweed, a type of seaweed that coats the rocky coastline there.
National Parks Traveler: Photography in the Parks, Schoodic, and Arizona Monuments
July 21, 2019 12:00 - 41 minutes - 96.9 MBIn this week's episode, we talk with Gemina Garland-Lewis, a photographer, EcoHealth researcher, and National Geographic Explorer, about her work in the parks, and how that has changed the way she experiences parks themselves. Next, we visit Schoodic Peninsula in Acadia National Park, a quieter part of the National Park System. Finally, we end with Walnut Canyon and Montezuma Castle national monuments, which are easy day trips from Flagstaff, Arizona, that open windows into past cultures.
National Parks Traveler: What Do You Know About Capitol Reef National Park
July 14, 2019 12:00 - 41 minutes - 95.6 MBThe Capitol Reef Reader is not your typical national park guidebook. No trail, dining, or lodging information. Rather, The Capitol Reef Reader offers an incredible wealth of information in the essays Stephen Trimble has pulled together for this collection. Essays by the likes of Clarence Dutton who traveled the Southwest with Major John Wesley Powell, Ed Abbey, and that literary conservation giant, Wallace Stegner. We talk with Trimble this week about how he pulled together the wonderful e...
National Parks Traveler: Can Guns Protect You Against Wildlife In The Backcountry?
July 07, 2019 12:00 - 52 minutes - 120 MBTom Smith, a professor of wildlife sciences at Brigham Young University and a member of the National Rifle Association, discusses how effective guns in backcountry locations are in defending against bear attacks. What he says might surprise you. This episode also looks at the Volcanic Legacy Highway that ties Lassen Volcanic National Park and Crater Lake National Park together.
National Parks Traveler: Everglades' Python Problem
June 30, 2019 12:00 - 39 minutes - 90.7 MBBurmese pythons long have presented a significant problem for native wildlife in Everglades National Park. Erika Zambello talks to a contractor hired to study and remove these invasive snakes. We also take a look at Acadia, Shenandoah, and Great Smoky Mountains National Park, and the Blue Ridge Parkway, and review Ramble On: A History of Hiking.
National Parks Traveler: Parks As Classrooms, And Kathadin Woods and Waters
June 23, 2019 12:00 - 53 minutes - 122 MBUsing national park settings as a backdrop for these programs can serve double duty – the resources are the perfect educational tool, and the settings can really connect youth to nature. These settings seem to resonate with students', teachers', and adults' innate thirst for nature. Saul Weisberg, who helped found the North Cascades Institute in 1986, has seen students from every walk of life positively affected by their experiences in North Cascades National Park and other public lands t...
National Parks Traveler: Bear Safety, Thomas Moran And The Parks
June 16, 2019 12:00 - 43 minutes - 100 MBKim Titchener, the founder of bearsafety.com, discusses how humans can stay safe in bear habitat, while Erika Zambello visits Washington, D.C., and tracks down some of Thomas Moran's famed paintings of national parks. Host Kurt Repanshek suggests that the National Park Service be pulled out of the Interior Department and set up as a freestanding agency.
National Parks Traveler: A Discussion About National Parks And Rejuvenation
June 09, 2019 12:00 - 36 minutes - 82.4 MBIndependent filmmaker Tom Huang discusses his new project, Find Me, a movie that uses national parks as a backdrop for a story about personal reflection and rejuvenation in nature. It also touches on the issue of cultural diversity in park visitors. With the official start to summer on June 21, we also offer some tips for staying safe in parks, and look at the gateway town of Estes Park, Colorado.
National Parks Traveler: Sooty Terns and National Park Guidebooks
June 02, 2019 12:00 - 53 minutes - 123 MBAre you familiar with Sooty terns? It’s an interesting seabird species with mysterious travels. In this week's National Parks Traveler podcast episode, Erika Zambello speaks with Dr. Ryan Huang about a decades-long research study on Sooty Terns in the Dry Tortugas. After they nest in the spring, where do they go? What do they eat? What will they face in the future? We also spend a little time with Becky Lomax, author of Moon USA National Parks, The Complete Guide to All 59 Parks, and take ...
National Parks Traveler: Yellowstone's Photographer And Badlands Parks
May 26, 2019 12:00 - 43 minutes - 98.6 MBJacob W. Frank is one of the photographers who frames Yellowstone National Park's wildlife, geysers, lakes and forests for you to enjoy. How did he get his job with the National Park Service, and how many parks has he captured with his cameras? He discusses his job with host Kurt Repanshek. You'll also find an overview of visiting South Dakota's national parks, monuments, and memorials in this episode.
National Parks Traveler: Roundtable On National Parks
May 19, 2019 12:00 - 47 minutes - 108 MBPhil Francis, chair of the Coalition to Protect America's National Parks, and Kristen Brengel, vice president of government affairs for the National Parks Conservation Association, join host Kurt Repanshek for this special roundtable discussion about current events in the National Park System.
National Parks Traveler: Wildlife in the Parks, White-Water Season, Tuskegee
May 12, 2019 13:00 - 45 minutes - 104 MBWhat is the state of wildlife in the National Park System? Defenders of Wildlife President Jamie Rappaport Clark discusses the health of wildlife in the national parks. Steve Markle of O.A.R.S. provides a forecast for the upcoming white-water season in Utah and California on the Green, Colorado, Merced, and Tuolumne rivers, and Erika Zambello tours Tuskegee Institute National Historic Site and Tuskegee Airmen National Historic Site.
National Parks Traveler: Should We Rename Dinosaur National Monument, The National Parks Girl
May 05, 2019 12:00 - 28 minutes - 65.7 MBWho is "thenationalparksgirl.com"? In this week's Traveler podcast, Erika Zambello tracks down Sonja Saxe to discuss her national park explorations. Erika and her husband visit Gulf Islands National Seashore to catch dinner. We conclude with a question of whether Dinosaur National Monument should be renamed "Dinosaur National Park"?
National Parks Traveler: Great friends at Grand Teton, Civil War books, and Russell Cave
April 28, 2019 12:00 - 39 minutes - 89.9 MBGrand Teton National Park Foundation CEO Leslie Mattson discusses how her organization is able to help raise the visitor experience at Grand Teton National Park. Kurt Repanshek reviews two books focused on the Civil War, and Erika Zambello explores Russell Cave National Monument in Alabama.
National Parks Traveler: How Not To Get Lost, Sketching Birds, And Peaked Hill Bars Historic District
April 21, 2019 12:00 - 41 minutes - 94.2 MBAndrew Herrington, a search-and-rescue expert at Great Smoky Mountains National Park, outlines how to stay safe on your hikes into the backcountry, while artist Molly Hashimoto explains how she comes away from her park visits with beautiful bird sketches, drawings, and paintings. Finally, we take a short hike into the Peaked Hill Bars Historic District at Cape Cod National Seashore.
National Parks Traveler: Isle Royale's Wolves And Caving In The National Parks
April 14, 2019 12:00 - 38 minutes - 88.7 MBDr. Rolf Peterson, a long-time wolf biologist at Michigan Tech University, discusses Isle Royale National Park's wolf recovery program in this week's episode, while host Kurt Repanshek reviews a book on butterflies you might encounter in national parks and another on marine life photography, and ends the program with a look at the many national parks with caves you can explore.
National Parks Traveler: Dan Wenk, Tidal Basin maintenance, and Little River Canyon
April 07, 2019 12:00 - 36 minutes - 84.2 MBDan Wenk, who spent four decades working for the National Park Service, shares his views on the current state of the agency and the National Park System. Host Kurt Repanshek discusses efforts to plan a restoration of the Tidal Basin at the National Mall and Memorial Parks with Katherine Malone-France of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, and Erika Zambello wraps up the show with a visit to Little River Canyon National Preserve in Alabama.
National Parks Traveler: Prey and Predators In Yellowstone, and Birding In Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument
March 31, 2019 12:00 - 50 minutes - 116 MBUtah State University wildlife researcher Dr. Dan MacNulty discusses wolves, bears, elk and other prey and predators in Yellowstone National Park in this week's episode, while Erika Zambello talks birding in Katadhin Woods and Waters National Monument with Doug Hitchcox of Maine Audubon. Host Kurt Repanshek wraps up the episode with a look at where you can find some incredible spring and summer wildflower blooms in the National Park System.
National Parks Traveler: The Dark Ranger And The Other Half Of The Park System
March 23, 2019 16:13 - 43 minutes - 98.5 MBKevin Poe, the original "Dark Ranger" of the National Park Service, talks dark night skies in the National Park System in this week's episode. Traveler contributing writer Kim O'Connell discusses what she's learned while researching a story on the state of Venezuela's national parks during the current social and political turmoil in that country, and host Kurt Repanshek concludes with a look at some of the "devilish" places in the park system.
National Parks Traveler : Park Politics, Art, and Vacations
March 17, 2019 12:00 - 43 minutes - 99.1 MBJohn Freemuth, the executive director of the Cecil D. Andrus Center for Public Policy at Boise State University discusses the current political landscape and how it's impacting national parks and public lands.
National Parks Traveler : Lionfish Invasion
March 10, 2019 13:00 - 30 minutes - 70.1 MBThis week, Traveler Contributing Editor Erika Zambello discusses the lionfish invasion in national park marine waters, while Contributing Photographer Rebecca Latson talks about a winter visit to Olympic National Park. Host Kurt Repanshek wraps up the show with a look ahead at harvesttime in the National Park System and where you can find tasty apples and juicy peaches.
National Parks Traveler: Backpacking Classics And Florida Panthers
March 03, 2019 13:00 - 52 minutes - 120 MBThere are thousands of miles of hiking trails in the National Park System. Traveler host Kurt Repanshek discusses some of the best with Michael Lanza, who keeps track of his adventures via his blog, The Big Outside. He’s also the author of Before They’re Gone, a Family’s Year-long Quest to Explore America’s Most Endangered National Parks. Also in this week's show, Kurt discusses the status of endangered Florida panthers with Elizabeth Fleming from Defenders of Wildlife. The show conclude...
National Parks Traveler Episode 2: Lodging In the Parks
February 24, 2019 13:00 - 47 minutes - 108 MBIn this week's edition of National Parks Traveler, host Kurt Repanshek discusses lodging in the National Park System with David and Kay Scott, authors of The Complete Guide to the National Park Lodges, updates congressional efforts to whittle away the park system's nearly $12 billion maintenance backlog, and reviews a once-in-a-lifetime visit to Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve.
National Parks Traveler Episode 1: Acadia National Park
February 17, 2019 11:00 - 33 minutes - 79.1 MBIn this inaugural National Parks Traveler podcast, host Kurt Repanshek talks with Friends of Acadia Communications Director Earl Brechlin about when best to visit the park, where to go, and what issues the park staff is facing. Traveler contributor Rita Beamish provides a preview of her story on the recovery Santa Monica Mountains NRA is going through following last fall's Woolsey fire.