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John Freemuth passed away May 2 from a heart attack/Boise State

John Freemuth, an expert on public lands policy at Boise State University who brought that knowledge to National Parks Traveler readers and listeners over the years, has died unexpectedly of a heart attack. He was 69.

Freemuth, who passed away May 2, was as comfortable discussing eBike regulations and where the motorized bikes were appropriate in the National Park System as he was discussing impacts the Trump administration was having on public lands and public lands policies.

In 2016, to mark the National Park Service's centennial, he and William R. Lowry, a professor at Washington University and author of Repairing Paradise, collaborated on an op-ed for the Traveler on ways to reinvigorate, not replace, the National Park Service.

Reforms are one thing. The national parks could certainly be better managed and made more relevant in the next century. Proposals to completely replace a system that has worked fairly well for the past century, however, are neither popular nor persuasive.

In recent years, Freemuth lent his thoughts and perspectives to the Traveler for stories and podcasts ranging from the political sway politicians have over public lands policy and whether former Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke wanted to privatize national parks to President Obama's public lands legacy.

He joined former National Park Service Director Jon Jarvis and Phil Francis, chair of the Coalition to Protect America's National Parks, this past March for a Traveler podcast concerning the impacts the coronavirus pandemic was having on the National Park System. Last October, he appeared on the weekly podcast to discuss some of the seemingly unprecedented actions and decisions being taken by the Interior Department and National Park Service.

Freemuth had obtained a doctorate in politics and government in 1986 from Colorado State University. At the time of his death he was the Distinguished Professor of Public Policy and Cecil Andrus Endowed Chair of Environment and Public Lands at Boise State University. Previously, he had chaired the Science Advisory Board of the Bureau of Land Management under former Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt. 

“The loss of John isn’t just a loss for Boise State and his field, but for everyone who knew him,” said Boise State University President Marlene Tromp. “He will be profoundly missed, but his impact — through all those he and his work touched — will vibrantly live on.”

At one time a park ranger himself, working as a seasonal at Glen Canyon National Recreation Area in Utah, Freemuth had been writing a book about Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve at the time of his death. During his days at Glen Canyon, he wrote Wanderer for Beauty: Everett Ruess in the Glen Canyon Area, a park interpretive handout concerning Everett Ruess and his mysterious disappearance in 1934 in southern Utah. 

Freemuth also authored Islands under Siege: National Parks and the Politics of External Threats, which was published by the University of Kansas Press in 1991. 

"John was quick with a joke and often sent Traveler emails consisting of his message in the subject line, or just a few quickly dashed words in the body," said Traveler Editor Kurt Repanshek. "But when interviewed, his comments reflected his deep and vast knowledge of public lands policy. His passing is a great loss for students of public policy, and personally as a friend."