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National Parks Traveler Podcast

National Parks Traveler Episode 86: Roundtable Discussion On National Park News

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The National Park System doesn’t pause for the upcoming presidential election. Throughout the summer it has been surprisingly busy, in light of the coronavirus pandemic, at many units of the park system. Indeed, there are many issues across the parks to pay attention to and discuss. To help us with that task, we’ve invited Kristen Brengel, senior vice president of government affairs for the National Parks Conservation Association, and Sheridan Steele, who spent nearly four decades with the National Park Service until 2015, when he retired.

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Can a gun protect you from bears in a national park's backcountry? What music will you hear at the Blue Ridge Music Center on the Blue Ridge Parkway? What does the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory staff do? Grizzly bears and wolves in Yellowstone. Exploring the missions at San Antonio Missions National Historical Park. Those are just a handful of topics we've explored on National Parks Traveler's podcast series.

National Parks Traveler Episode 85: Visiting The Blue Ridge Music Center

Blue Ridge Music Center along the Blue Ridge Parkway

In this week’s show, we look at a national park site that celebrates distinctly American music -- the Blue Ridge Music Center along the Blue Ridge Parkway near Galax, Virginia. Traveler’s Lynn Riddick visits with Richard Emmett, director of the Blue Ridge Music Center, to find out what’s happening in the interpretation, presentation, and promotion of traditional American mountain music.

National Parks Traveler Episode 82: Covid-19's Impact On Outdoor Rec, & Outdoor Afro Fundraiser

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In this week’s show, we take a look at the outdoor recreation industry and how it has been impacted by the coronavirus pandemic. Overall, the industry has been hard hit, but there are some bright spots. Jessica Turner, executive director of the Outdoor Recreation Roundtable, and the organization's vice president, Lindsey Davis, discuss the state of the industry amid the coronavirus pandemic. We also take a look at the upcoming fundraiser for Outdoor Afro. Yosemite National Park Ranger Shelton Johnson will host the fundraiser for the organization that inspires and facilitates the connection of Black Americans to natural spaces everywhere.

National Parks Traveler Episode 81: Yosemite Turns Into Assateague, And Species Extinction

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In this week’s show, we question whether national parks can serve as a barrier to slow the sixth mass extinction. 

Certainly, the large landscape parks such as Yellowstone and Yosemite and Grand Canyon offer the habitat many species require. But parks are slowly being hemmed in by development, making it harder and harder for species to follow their natural paths across the landscape. 

So can they slow the sixth mass extinction? We’re going to be taking a look at that in the coming weeks and months, and today we’ll lay out that proposal in an essay.

National Parks Traveler Episode 80: Pandemics And The National Parks

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In this week’s show, we’re focusing on the current coronavirus pandemic as well as the 1918 flu pandemic and how those diseases impacted national park visitation. After discussing those two pandemics with Professor Terence Young from California Polytechnic State University, we visit with contributing writer Rita Beamish, who tried to escape the current pandemic by taking to the John Muir Trail for nine days. She found that many other hikers were being careful by keeping their distance and wearing face masks when necessary, while others were more cavalier.

National Parks Traveler Episode 78: Using Satellites To Spot Wildfires In National Parks

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An early detection of a wildland fire in Denali National Park in June brings to light how enhanced satellite technology is catching smaller fires sooner, providing better detail and more accurate fire predictions and assessments.  As a result, fire managers are better able to determine needed actions and resources to meet the unique conditions of Alaska’s landscape.

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