National Parks Traveler Podcast Episode 301 | Red-Cockaded Woodpecker--A Decision Too Soon?

By Jess Repanshek - November 17th, 2024

The vulnerable red-cockaded woodpecker is known to be found in national park units throughout the southeast. Big Cypress National Preserve and Everglades National Park in Florida, Cumberland Island National Seashore in Georgia, and Great Smoky Mountains National Park in Tennessee are just a few of the parks that either are, or once were, home to the woodpecker.

Recently the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service moved to downlist the red-cockaded woodpecker from being an endangered species to being threatened. While that normally would be welcome news, the decision has been criticized as being premature and ignorant of climate-change threats to the species.

This week the Traveler’s Lynn Riddick discusses this decision with the southeast program director of Defenders of Wildlife…and the thinking behind that organization’s belief that this decision comes at a questionable time.

0:02 National Parks Traveler introduction
0:12 Episode Intro with Kurt Repanshek
0:53 Blue Mist - Randy Petersen - The Sounds of Shenandoah
1:12 Smokies Life
1:36 Friends of Acadia
2:01 Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation
2:24 NPT NewsMatch Drive
3:41 Episode 301 - Red-Cockaded Woodpecker--A Decision Too Soon?
3:51 Red Cockaded Woodpecker Call
40:27 Caribbean Song - Tim Heintz - The Sounds of the Everglades
40:51 Episode Closing
41:11 Xeno-Canto.org
41:26 Orange Tree Productions
41:59 Splitbeard Productions
42:10 National Parks Traveler footer

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National Parks Traveler Podcast

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National Parks Traveler Podcast Episode 312 | The Ghost Forest

National parks are home to many iconic trees. Bristlecones pines, Whitebark pines, Sequoias, even mangroves. And, of course, redwoods.

These trees hold many stories. The size alone of redwoods and sequoias are enough to hold your attention. But there are backstories, as well. In the case of redwoods along the Northern California coast, the backstory can be heart breaking. There are chapters of logging fever, of course, as well as of political machinations, and stories of loss.

February 9th, 2025 Read More

National Parks Traveler Podcast Episode 311 | Keeping Cape Lookout Above Water

Rising sea levels, stronger storms, eroding shorelines, and sinking terrain are taking a toll on the fragile ecosystems and historic resources at Cape Lookout National Seashore on the Outer Banks of North Carolina. A new study by the U.S. Geological Survey takes a close look at these threats and predicts how they will impact the national seashore over the coming years.

February 2nd, 2025 Read More

National Parks Traveler Podcast Episode 310 | Parks Under Pressure

Here we are, a week into the second administration of President Donald Trump. It’s certainly a time of change, some of which is expected, and some perhaps not. Do we really need to rename North America’s tallest mountain, Denali in Denali National Park and Preserve?

There is much going on in the federal government, and not all is good. Hiring freezes are underway. There’s much talk about reducing the federal budget, which requires cutting agency funding.

January 26th, 2025 Read More

National Parks Traveler Podcast Episode 309 | Yellowstone Wolves at 30

There are sounds that wake you up out of a deep sleep, only to be dismissed as you fall back to sleep. And then there are sounds that rivet you, make you sit bolt upright.

That was the type of sound that woke us while we were deep in the backcountry of Yellowstone National Park. Sunrise hadn’t yet come, yet we were wide awake, listening to one of the most mesmerizing sounds you can encounter in the wilds: The melodious rising and falling howl of a wolf.

January 12th, 2025 Read More

National Parks Traveler Podcast Episode 308 | Threatened and Endangered Parks

We’re five days into 2025, and already there’s a lot of news concerning national parks and the National Park Service. Traveler Editor-in-Chief Kurt Repanshek is joined today by Contributing Editor Kim O’Connell to discuss the Traveler’s 4th Annual Threatened and Endangered Park Series and other recent park-related news.

January 5th, 2025 Read More

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The Essential RVing Guide to the National Parks