National Parks Traveler Podcast

The beauty of the National Park System is that there are more than 400 units that you can choose to visit, and each has a unique perspective showcasing the United States' history, natural beauty, or cultural richness. Fort Larned is the best-preserved Civil War-era fort in the National Park System and has more than a few stories held in the stone walls of its barracks, officers' quarters, commissary, and other buildings.

Though Nancy Hershberger might be dismissed by "traditional" quilters, her patchwork designs capture a setting deserving a spot in an art gallery, or a wall in your home. True, her quilts won't cover your bed or keep you physically warm on a cold night. But they likely will bring a knowing smile to your face and possibly remind you of a place in time from your wanderings through the National Park System.

There are 423 units in the National Park System, but a surprising number of people focus on about two dozen parks. Last year, when roughly 300 million visited the park system, just 25 units – the Yellowstones, Grand Canyon's, Zions, Cape Cods, Blue Ridge Parkways – got 50 percent of the traffic. There are so many overlooked units in the National Park System worthy of a visit. They might not be your final destination, but they're certainly worth becoming a destination on your traveling itinerary. For example, let's walk the tallgrass prairie at Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve.

The Oregon Trail stretched roughly 2,170 miles from Missouri to Oregon's Willamette Valley. It rambled across prairie, sagebrush desert and mountains. From the 1840s into the 1880s, hundreds of thousands of immigrants made the challenging journey, and not all survived. Today more than 120 historic sites, auto tour routes, and markers show us where the Oregon Trail traveled. One of the choke points, if you will, is in western Nebraska at a place preserved today as Scotts Bluff National Monument. Here the Oregon Trail runs across Mitchell Pass, a low spot squeezed by buff-colored bluffs that tower to the north and the south. Today a state highway runs through the pass, but back in the mid-1800s, it was a narrow wagon trail that Conestoga wagons and covered wagons followed. Traveler Editor Kurt Repanshek recently visited the monument and walked part of the trail with Ranger Eric Grunwald.

There really are few days that aren't great for paddling on Jackson Lake in Grand Teton National Park, whether you're in a canoe or a sea kayak. During a short getaway in early June my wife and I did just that. Embed the picture that accompanies this post in your mind, then listen as I paddle the lake and describe the setting.

NPT Ep 176 Spot List - Run Time - 41:40 :02 National Parks Traveler introduction :12 Episode Intro with Lynn Riddick :34 The Road Scholar - Bill Mize - The Spirit of South Dakota :44 Eastern National Passport 1:27 Interior Federal Credit Union 1:45 Washington's National Park Fund 2:18 Wild Tribute 2:39 Great Smoky Mountains Association 3:04 Kurt's Travels with Lynn Riddick 28:33 Black Woods - Nature's Symphony - The Sounds of Acadia 28:54 Grand Teton National Park Foundation 29:22 Potrero Group 29:48 Yosemite Conservancy 30:08 Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation 30:27 Everglades Foundation 30:39 Friends of Acadia 31:11 Kurt's Travels with Lynn Riddick Continues 39:19 The Horsemen - Randy Petersen - The Spirit of South Dakota 39:42 Episode Closing 39:58 Orange Tree Productions 40:29 Splitbeard Productions 40:39 National Parks Traveler footer

The impact of the Covid shutdown in the National Park System is well-known, and we regret that many park-related businesses in the gateway communities may not have made it. The National Parks Traveler circled back to one particular business that we had featured in an article in May 2020 –- Southern Yosemite Mountain Guides. -- to see how it has fared ever since.

Waking up in the middle of the night in the backcountry of a national park can often be an interesting, or even unnerving, experience. What was it that caused you to wakeup? Fourteen years ago, deep in the interior of Yellowstone National Park it was the howling of a wolf that woke me, and when I think about it, it still seems like it was just yesterday. The melodic howl hung in the air, seesawing up and down as the wolf sang his song. We go into national parks to view spectacular scenery, hike, and see wildlife. But have you ever just stopped to listen? As much as a national park's scenery catches you, the sounds you can pick up during your park visits are just as memorable. And, in the case of a howling wolf, bellowing grizzly, or bugling elk, I would suggest that they're more memorable. This is Kurt Repanshek, your host at the National Parks Traveler. This week, we're doing away with talking and focusing on listening. NPT Ep 174 Spot List - Run Time - 35:31 :02 National Parks Traveler introduction :12 Episode Intro with Kurt Repanshek 1:06 Beyond the Reef - Tim Heintz & Grant Geissman - Seascapes: A Musical Journey 1:16 Interior Federal Credit Union 1:35 Yosemite Conservancy 1:55 Eastern National Passport 2:38 Great Smoky Mountains Association 2:58 Friends of Acadia 3:25 Listening to the Parks - Yellowstone 15:27 Listening to the Parks - Rocky Mountain 21:15 Listening to the Parks - Everglades 24:35 Listening to the Parks - Hawaii 31:23 Episode Closing 32:04 Wonder Lake - Various Artists - The Spirit of Alaska 32:12 Orange Tree Productions 32:44 Wild Tribute 33:08 Grand Teton National Park Foundation 33:36 Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation 33:56 Washington's National Park Fund 34:28 Everglades Foundation 34:39 Potrero Group 35:05 Splitbeard Productions 35:15 National Parks Traveler footer

The natural and wild environments of our national parks offer the unsurpassed protection and diverse ecosystems that birds need to thrive. And that makes our parks equally great places for you to see birds. This week the Traveler's Lynn Riddick talks to birding expert Nicholas Lund of Maine Audubon, who believes that whether you consider yourself a full-fledged birder or just someone who simply likes birds, when it comes to our national parks, there's always a bird in the air, in a tree or along the water's edge to see, hear, and learn about.

Memorial Day Weekend is the official kickoff to summer. There's no doubt that many of us have already been to a unit of the National Park System in 2022, but this weekend is the traditional kickoff to venturing into the park system. If you don't know where to go, or what to do, I've invited Kim O'Connell, a contributing writer at the Traveler, and Lynn Riddick, our masterful podcaster, to help sort through the options.

National Parks probably have never been entirely immune from political influences, whether they came out of Washington, D.C., or close to a park's boundaries. But there's an argument that can be made, one backed up by evidence, that the past 50 years have seen the most attempts to subvert the mission of the National Park Service to preserve and protect natural resources unimpaired for the enjoyment of future generations. Jon Jarvis, the 18th director of the National Park Service under President Obama, and his brother Destry, who has a long career tied to conservation and the national parks, to discuss their new book, National Parks Forever, 50 Years Of Fighting And A Case For Independence. In it they call for the National Park Service to be broken out of the Interior Department in a bid to reduce political interference on the agency.

A new figure -- $21.8 billion -- has been attached to the National Park System's maintenance backlog. How will Congress react to that figure just a couple years after being told the number was around $13 billion?

National parks inspire a lot of things, from great adventures and beautiful landscape paintings to the names of cars and trucks to even music. In this week's podcast we invite you to tap your feet to the music as Lynn Riddick shares the stories of two vbands whose monikers and tunes are inspired by the national parks: National Park Radio, and the National Parks.

Everglades National Park very easily can be viewed as the poster child for invasive species. It's infested with non-native Burmese pythons, Argentine black and white tegus are making inroads, there is invasive vegetation like Melaleuca and Brazilian pepper, and nonnative fish are making their way into the park's ecosystems. Kurt Repanshek, editor of the National Parks Traveler, recently had a chance to sit down with Pedro Ramos, superintendent of Everglades National Park, to discuss the battles against these invasive species and look ahead to the park's 75th birthday this fall.

One trail you must take when you visit Everglades National Park is the Anhinga Trail at Royal Palm. You'll find a short boardwalk that takes you out over the waters of Taylor Slough and quickly discover that the mangroves and other trees that rise above the water are popular with anhingas, one of the park's most popular birds.

Lake Powell long has been the shimmering heart of Glen Canyon National Recreation Area in Utah and Arizona, but it's not the only asset of the NRA that covers 1.25 million acres. This is Kurt Repanshek, your host at the National Parks Traveler. Last year I had the good fortune to visit Glen Canyon NRA twice –- once in May to kayak Lake Powell -- and then in July when I backpacked into the park's backcountry to not just admire its beauty but watch efforts to reverse the spread of invasive vegetation in the park. But not all is well with the NRA. A drought said to be the longest in 1,200 years has left Lake Powell at its lowest level since it began filling in 1963. It reached its full impoundment in 1980. But shrinking snowpack levels in the Colorado River drainage in recent years has failed to generate enough runoff into Lake Powell to more than offset the water running through the hydroelectric generating station in the Glen Canyon Dam. To discuss the state of Lake Powell, and Glen Canyon National Recreation Area as a whole, we've invited Glen Canyon Superintendent Bill Shott to join us. We'll be back in a minute with the superintendent.

A great way to experience Everglades National Park is to go on a "slough slog" into a cypress dome. Ranger Yvette Cano led National Parks Traveler Editor Kurt Repanshek on such a wet hike in search of a gator hole.

Lyndon Baines Johnson had a staggering impact on the United States during his time as president. Much of his approach to government was instilled during his early life in Texas. In this, part two of her podcast on the Lyndon B. Johnson National Historical Park, the Traveler's Lynn Riddick visits the president's boyhood home and ranch. The LBJ Ranch was where he was born, lived, died, and was buried.

Those who have ascended to the presidency of the United States are products of the environments in which they were born, raised, and educated. Their early experiences usually have a significant effect on how they manage their presidency and the subsequent policy and programs developed under their watch. Lyndon Baines Johnson is a fitting example of that. His presidency was guided in full measure by his upbringing, his personal experiences with poverty and shame and his observation of racism and hate. The National Parks Traveler's Lynn Riddick begins a two-part series on the unique Lyndon B. Johnson National Historical Park, which offers the most complete picture of any American president. Guided by park official Brian Vickers, Lynn takes us through the site's two distinct districts – the Johnson City District and the LBJ Ranch District –to learn about Johnson's compelling cradle-to-grave story and the forces that shaped his life.

Some 615,000 visitors a year flock to the hard-packed gray sands of Padre Island National Seashore along the Gulf Coast of Texas. This undeveloped national seashore boasts an abundance of natural wonders in its tidal flats, dunes and grasslands. Ample solitude can be found on it 65-mile stretch of beach, including 60 miles that are only accessible by four-wheel drive. The Traveler's Lynn Riddick takes an in-depth look at Padre Island National Seashore and finds that not only is it a popular destination for campers, windsurfers, and anglers, but history buffs might find intrigue in the remnants of early settlements, cattle ranches and military installations found there.

Near the very tip of Everglades National Park, the interior wetlands of Cape Sable have long been viewed as one of the most ecologically productive environments left in Florida. It could become even more so thanks to an upcoming restoration project. Dr. Jerry Lorenz, head of Audubon's Everglades Science Center, explains the project.

Nearly 200 countries have developed various forms of biodiversity strategies, but the United States is not one of them. What exactly would a "national biodiversity strategy" look like? What would it entail? To explore those, and other, questions about biodiversity we're joined by Robert Dewey, vice president of government relations at Defenders of Wildlife, and Lindsay Rosa, who directs Defenders' center for conservation innovation.

From coast to coast, national parks, national forests, and state parks are being crowded, if not overrun at times, by visitors. One part of the country that has seen record-breaking visitation has been the Outer Banks of North Carolina, where Cape Hatteras National Seashore, Fort Raleigh National Historic Site, and the Wright Brothers Memorial combined welcomed nearly 4 million visitors last year. National Parks of Eastern North Carolina Superintendent Dave Hallec discuss that record visitation, and risks to ocean-front homes at Rodanthe.

Across the roughly 85-million-acre National Park System there are, in theory at least, some 70 million acres envisioned as official wilderness. Forty-four million acres have received Congressional blessing as such, while another 26 million acres are in something akin to administrative limbo. Some of those 26 million acres -- including roughly two-thirds of Big Bend National Park -- have been recommended for official wilderness designation...and seen that recommendation languish. There's an effort to turn roughly two-thirds of Big Bend National Park into Congressionally approved wilderness.

How many are too many? That's the question to mull in the wake of news from the National Park Service that nearly 300 million visited the National Park System last year. What is the perfect number for annual visitation to the park system's 423 units? To help sort out the pluses and minuses of 300 million visitors a year to the park system, and to offer you some suggestions for escaping the crowds, we've asked Becky Lomax, author of USA National Parks, The Complete Guide To All 63 Parks to return to the Traveler to discuss visitation.

Should Yellowstone National Park have more bison, should it have less? Just recently the park embarked on an environmental impact statement to examine that question. Dr. James Derr, a professor of veterinary genetics at Texas A&M University who has spent more than a quarter century directing worldwide research projects in wildlife and livestock conservation genetics, discusses bison in Yellowstone and elsewhere on public lands.

RVing –- traveling by recreational vehicle –- has exploded along with the coronavirus pandemic. Sales have gone through the roof, inventory has been depleted, and would-be customers often have to wait months before they can hit the road with their new rig. Many, if not most, of those RV enthusiasts are heading into the National Park System. And why not? Gorgeous scenery, inspiring landscapes, relaxation. But it's not as simple as it used to be because of that rush to hit the road with your home either being towed along or on the back of your pickup. Rene Agredano, a full-time RVer since 2007, discusses the challenges of enjoying the parks by RV.

With the great rush to the outdoors that we've seen since the Covid pandemic erupted, there have been many calls for more space in the National Park System. While there are places in the West that seem to be logical additions to the parks there, that's not the case in the East. So, if we want more park lands east of the Mississippi, how could we gain them?

Great Smoky Mountains National Park is one of the great hiking destinations in the mid-Atlantic region, if not the entire East Coast. Across its rumpled 522,427 acres there are more than 800 miles of trails. They range from relatively short footpaths to scenic payoffs like Rainbow Falls and Abrahams Falls to the more than 70 miles of the Appalachian National Scenic Trail that crosses the top of the park. Nancy East is well familiar with the park's trail network, as she and a close friend set out in the fall of 2020 to hike every mile of that network, and then she wrote about it in a new book, Chasing the Smokies Moon. We talk with Nancy to understand what motivated her to embark on such a hike and what that endeavor taught her.

All is not well at Point Reyes National Seashore, as a years-long battle continues over ranching at Point Reyes, how it's impacting the seashore's environment, and how the National Park Service is trying to manage it. To sort through some of these issues, we're joined by Laura Cunningham, California director at Western Watersheds Project.

Last week the National Parks Traveler took you to Big Bend National Park in far west Texas with a discussion with Chief of Interpretation Tom Vandenberg. This week, Traveler's Lynn Riddick provides a first-hand, more personal glimpse into this vast remote park. Afterwards, Traveler Editor Kurt Repanshek shares a short conversation he had with Charles Sams, the new director of the National Park Service.

The National Parks Traveler's Lynn Riddick begins a two-part series about her recent trip to Big Bend -- a vast wilderness in the Chihuahuan Desert along the Rio Grande. She meets up with the park's chief of interpretation, who offers an overview of the park's varied geology and diverse ecology, its human history and what the future may hold for visitors seeking adventure and solitude in the park's 800,000 acres.

This has been one of the most newsworthy years in recent memory for the National Park Service and the parks. There's finally a Senate-confirmed director at the helm, billions of dollars are flowing into the parks for a variety of projects, wildfires chewed through Sequoia, Kings Canyon and Lassen Volcanic national parks, lakes Powell and Mead are shadows of their former selves. A look back at news in the National Park System in 2021.

As the global human population continues to increase, as sprawl continues to wash over natural areas, the amount of space needed for flora and fauna to thrive and, even, in some cases, survive, is steadily being squeezed by the human footprint. Kristine Tompkins knows a little about protecting landscapes for nature. She and her late husband, Doug Tompkins, donated more than 2 million acres in Chile and Argentina to those two countries, which in turn were able to create 13 national parks.

When you visit Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park, after you've gazed into the Kīlauea crater itself if it's erupting, you should make a point to hike the Kīlauea Iki Trail. Starting from an overlook near Nāhuku (aka the Thurston Lava Tube), the trail goes down through the rainforest and out across a crater floor created back in 1959 by one of the most spectacular eruptions of the 20th century at the national park.

There is no shortage of hiking trails in the National Park System. From coastal walks and boardwalk trails to trails that run the ridges of the Teton Crest Trail in Grand Teton National Park and the wildly popular hike to the top of Old Rag in Shenandoah National Park, the options can be overwhelming even if you had endless time to explore the parks. It might come as a surprise to those who view Yosemite National Park as an iconic valley and a grove of soaring sequoias, but there are more than 800 miles of hiking trails in that park. And to get a feeling for those trails, we're joined today by Elizabeth Wenk, the author of the 6th edition of Your Complete Hiking Guide/Yosemite National Park from Wilderness Press.

Camels, lions, and mammoths once roamed the landscape around Las Vegas, Nevada. Such was the case during the latter part of the Pleistocene era, which spanned a period of time between 11,000 years and 2.5 million years ago. The area -- known as the Upper Las Vegas Wash –- is rich with the fossils of these and many more creatures as well as ancient plants and pollens. This trove of fossils is preserved within Tule Springs Fossil Beds National Monument. Lynn Riddick talks with Tule Springs Superintendent Derek Carter to learn about the treasures contained in the monument.

Today we're talking adventures, friendships, and the environment with Rick Ridgeway, who has traveled the world seeking adventure and, along the way, debated and discussed environmental consciousness with his friends, colleagues and peers. Rick, a climber, kayaker, explorer, filmmaker, and thoughtful writer, has a new book out, Life Lived Wild, that chronicles many of the adventures he's embarked upon the past five decades or so.

It's been said that the night sky represents the other half of the National Park System. It's in the national parks where you can experience some of the darkest skies you'll find anywhere. Our guest this week knows all about that. Artist, author, astronomer and Night Sky Ambassador Doctor Tyler Nordgren talks with the Traveler's Lynn Riddick about the cosmic opportunity that the parks offer to teach the public about astronomy.

Feral hogs are just one of several species of invasive mammals that are posing immense challenges for national park managers. Unlike invasive insects or reptiles, invasive mammals are often larger and more "charismatic" animals, difficult for parks to eradicate from a logistical, financial, and emotional perspective.

Enter the National Park System and you won't come away disappointed when you realize all that awaits you. At Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, it's impossible not to be awed by the volcanism that created the Hawaiian islands, and which is on full display at the crater atop the Kīlauea volcano. Jessica Ferracane, the park's public affairs specialist, gave me a primer on Kīlauea during an early November visit. Her broad knowledge of the park and its two volcanoes and enthusiasm in discussing all things Hawaii Volcanoes National Park quickly came across.

The national parks have never been more popular...or more threatened. Now through the end of the year, we are asking for your support for a fundraising campaign to ensure the National Parks Traveler's ongoing coverage of national parks and protected areas.

For Grand Teton National Park, this year has, to put it bluntly, been crazy busy. In September the park counted 570,584 visitors, the second-highest tally for that month in park history. Notably, it pushed the park's year-to-date visitation to 3,493,937, a record for an entire year, and with October, November, and December to go. Grand Teton Superintendent Chip Jenkins discusses the impacts of that visitation.

The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee questioned Mr. Sams this past week during his confirmation hearing. He's an interesting nominee. He's from outside the National Park Service, and if confirmed he would be the first Native American director of the Park Service. Discussing his nomination are Phil Francis of the Coalition to Protect America's National Parks, and Kristen Brengel of the National Parks Conservation Association.

Editor-in-Chief Kurt Repanshek and Contributing Editor Kim O'Connell discuss news from around the National Park System, from black bear incidents along the Blue Ridge Parkway to a Yellowstone visitor being sentenced to jail for getting too close to a grizzly bear sow and her cubs.

Why visit Cumberland Gap National Historical Park? The gap was the portal to the heart of the country, as Daniel Boone discovered in the 1700s. And it's the one unit of the National Park System where you can take turns standing in Tennessee, Kentucky, and Virginia. Lynn Riddick gives you a brief preview of the historical park with this audio postcard.

We're in the middle of a world-wide extinction crisis. Here in the United States, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service just announced that nearly two dozen species, from the Ivory-billed woodpecker to two freshwater fish species, are extinct. How are wildlife in the parks doing? To explore that and other questions surrounding wildlife, we're joined by Dr. Joel Berger, a senior scientist with the Wildlife Conservation Society as well as the Barbara Cox Anthony University Chair in Wildlife Conservation at Colorado State University.

Key to the survival of many threatened and endangered species is the designation of wildlife corridors. The Traveler's Lynn Riddick talks to Tori Linder of the Path of the Panther Project about efforts to formalize the Florida Wildlife Corridor, a large and growing mosaic of protected forests and timberlands, swamps, pastures, and orchards that provide the green spaces that animals need to thrive.

Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado year-in and year-out is one of the most popular units of the National Park System. Its rugged peaks attract climbers, its heavily forested backcountry lures hikers and backpackers, and its wildlife attracts photographers and visitors hoping to glimpse elk, or catch their unique bugling, or spot bighorn sheep. As popular as Rocky Mountain National Park is, it's not too surprising that the heavy visitation brings problems to the park. And in 2020, those problems were exasperated by the East Troublesome and Cameron Peak wildfires. To discuss those issues, and other issues in the park, we've invited Rocky Mountain Superintendent Darla Sidles to join us.

NPT Ep 136 Spot List - Run Time - 48:00 :02 National Parks Traveler introduction :12 Episode introduction with Kurt Repanshek 1:05 Parks Book Reviews 23:14 The Offering - Bill Mize - The Sounds of the Great Smoky Mountains 23:33 WNPA 23:54 Yosemite Conservancy 24:17 Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation 24:38 Potrero Group 25:06 North Cascades Institute 25:24 Nova Scotia 25:56 Parks Book Reviews Continue 43:22 Bass Harbor - Nature's Symphony - The Sounds of Acadia 44:07 Episode Closing 44:50 Washington's National Park Fund 45:26 Interior Federal Credit Union 46:00 Friends of Acadia 46:27 Grand Teton National Park Foundation 46:59 Orange Tree Productions 47:32 Splitbeard Productions 47:42 National Parks Traveler footer