National Parks Traveler: Parks For Newbies, San Antonio Missions, And Voices From The River
National Parks Traveler Podcast
Release Date: 03/01/2020
National Parks Traveler Podcast
One of the most popular public events in the National Park System was the release of sea turtle hatchlings, shuffling off into the Gulf of Mexico at Padre Island National Seashore. I say was, because the number of those public events has been drastically scaled back in recent years. The programs featuring the release of Kemp’s ridley sea turtle hatchlings at Padre Island offered young and old a crash course in conservation of a species that has narrowly avoided extinction, and remains highly endangered. In 2019, before the COVID 19 pandemic shuttered the public hatchling releases at...
info_outline National Parks Traveler Podcast | Polluting the ParksNational Parks Traveler Podcast
Air pollution and climate change impacts can have outsized effects on the National Park System, as well as lesser noticed but just as concerning effects. But are those impacts spread across the entire park system, or clustered around a few? Back in 2019 the National Parks Conservation Association looked at how air pollution and climate change were impacting parks. They have updated that from the National Park Service, and the current state of affairs remains concerning. To discuss NPCA’s findings, we’ve asked Ulla Reeves, the interim director of NPCA’s Clean Air Program to join...
info_outline National Parks Traveler Podcast | State of the Parks 2024National Parks Traveler Podcast
While most visitors to the National Park System view the parks as incredibly beautiful places, or places rich in culture and history, there’s a lot that goes on behind the scenes within the parks, and with the National Parks Service. Traveler editor Kurt Repanshek has closely followed the parks and the Park Service for more than 18 years. Over that timespan, he’s seen a lot of changes in the parks, and the agency itself. In today’s show we are going to offer a sort of “State of the Parks” with you. After all, as much as you enjoy the park system, you have a vested interest in...
info_outline National Parks Traveler Podcast | National Park GuidebooksNational Parks Traveler Podcast
With nearly 430 units in the National Park System, of which 63 are National Parks, we all probably could use a little help in planning our adventures into the park system. But do you simply visit a park’s website to plan your trip? Find an online guidebook? Buy a hardcover guidebook? Or simply wing it when you reach your destination? This is Kurt Repanshek, your host at the National Parks Traveler. I must confess, I’ve taken all three approaches, and I’ve even written a guidebook to the parks, and there’s probably a fair amount of guidebook material on the Traveler. Today we’re...
info_outline National Parks Traveler Podcast | Staying Safe At Hawai'i VolcanoesNational Parks Traveler Podcast
Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park is such a unique destination in the National Park System. Located on the Big Island, it’s surrounded by the Pacific Ocean, it has rainforests, and it boasts two active volcanoes in Mauna Loa and Kilauea. A visit to Hawai’i Volcanoes comes with a number of options. Do you simply hope to catch an eruption of Kilauea and head somewhere else in Hawaii, do you explore the backcountry with its more than 160 miles of trails, or you try to soak in the Hawaiian culture? Hopefully you’ll do all of that and more, because the park is so remarkable and...
info_outline National Parks Traveler Podcast | Vanishing TreasuresNational Parks Traveler Podcast
From the Rocky Mountains to the West Coast and up to Alaska, there are thousands of historic structures and archaeological sites on National Park System landscapes. They range in variety from homesteader cabins to pre-historic cave dwellings. Taking care of these buildings and archaeological sites is a valuable job for the National Park Service, as they speak to the country’s history and its prehistory. But it hasn’t always been easy for the agency’s Vanishing Treasures program, which was created in 1998. At times administrations have proposed funding cuts for the program, and there’s...
info_outline National Parks Traveler Podcast | Coming to the Aid of Giant SequoiasNational Parks Traveler Podcast
Stand before a giant sequoia tree in Sequoia or Kings Canyon national parks or nearby Yosemite National Park and you’re overwhelmed by their size, and assume they’re impervious to anything that might be thrown at them. But as we learned from wildfires in 2020 and 2021 in Sequoia and Kings Canyon national parks, that’s not the case. The Castle Fire in 2020 and then the KNP Complex and Windy fires in 2021 that burned through the two parks destroyed thousands of giant sequoia trees. Estimates put the losses at more than 14,000 mature trees, or roughly 13-19 percent of the world’s giant...
info_outline National Parks Traveler Podcast | California Mountain LionsNational Parks Traveler Podcast
Mountain lions are an incredibly charismatic animal on landscapes within, and adjacent to, the National Park System. But they’re seldom seen because of their nocturnal tendencies. There recently was a new report that focused on a comprehensive estimate of mountain lions in California, and the number is much smaller than many had thought it was. To discuss California’s mountain lion population, and efforts to protect that population, our guest today is Dr. Veronica Yovovich, conservation scientist at Panthera, the global wild cat conservation organization.
info_outline National Parks Traveler Podcast | Manassas Battlefield ThreatsNational Parks Traveler Podcast
Manassas National Battlefield Park in Virginia protects one of the defining battlefields of the Civil War. It was there that the first battle of the war was waged, in 1861, it was the scene of a second battle a year later, and it was where Confederate General Thomas Jonathan Jackson got his Stonewall nickname. Despite the significance of Manassas, the Prince William County supervisors in December agreed to rezone 2,100 acres adjacent to the battlefield to allow for the world’s largest data processing center to be built there. A lawsuit recently was filed in a bid to stop the development....
info_outline National Parks Traveler Podcast | National Park Reservation SystemsNational Parks Traveler Podcast
Mount Rainier National Park is the most recent unit of the National Park System to announce that you’ll need a reservation to enter the most popular areas of the park during the busy summer months. At the same time, Shenandoah National Park has announced that a pilot program it’s been running for two years for access to Old Rag will be permanent going forward. Reservation systems to get into national parks are controversial. Many folks argue they hinder spontaneity in travel, others like the assurance of knowing they can get into a national park such as Arches, or Rocky Mountain, or...
info_outlineThis week we have a wide-ranging discussion about visiting the parks with Jason Epperson from the America’s National Parks podcast and David and Kay Scott, authors of The Complete Guide To the National Park Lodges. We preview upcoming podcasts on the missions of San Antonio Missions National Historical Park, and recap our series on the Colorado River and its impacts on Canyonlands National Park and Glen National Recreation Area.