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National Parks Traveler Podcast

National Parks Traveler Episode 35: Florida Panther Genes, Big Bend In Winter, Campground Improvements

How 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 operate more national park campgrounds.

National Parks Traveler Episode 34: Tribal Priorities For Everglades, Questionable Park Management

Erika 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.

Love the Everglades

National Parks Traveler Episode 33: Washington's National Park Fund, Point Reyes Cattle, Fall Wildlife

In this week's episode, Laurie 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 Episode 32: Breaching Cape Lookout, Glacier's Shrinking Glaciers, Wintering Voyageurs

Hurricane 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 Episode 31: Is Fall Moving, Bahama Parrots, Erasing The Maintenance Backlog

How 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 National Park, 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 National Park System.

National Parks Traveler Episode 30: Hiker Trash, Fishing Great Smoky, "Acting" Directors

"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 examine 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 Episode 29: Refugia in Acadia, Fall Park Destinations, And eBikes

How 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, and question the process Interior Secretary David Bernhardt took to expand access for eBikes in the National Park System.

National Parks Traveler Episode 28: Seven Months In The National Parks, Visiting Joshua Tree

Lauren 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 27: Blue Ridge Parkway Needs, Acadia's Falcons, And Black Canyon Of The Gunnison

As 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 or worse.

National Parks Traveler Episode 26: Segregation In The Parks, And Winter In Everglades

Dr. 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 also takes a look at Everglades National Park and why it's a great park destination during the winter months.

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