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National Parks podcast, National Parks Traveler

John Garder, the senior director of budget and appropriations for the National Parks Conservation Association, discusses congressional action on legislation to address the roughly $12 billion in backlogged maintenance needs across the National Park System. Becky Lomax, author of Moon USA National Parks, talks about what she's seeing in the parks in terms of that maintenance backlog, and we share thoughts about efforts to build a commercial spaceport just west of Cumberland Island National Seashore.

:12 Episode introduction with Kurt Repanshek
1:36 Introduction to John Garder's discussion of the Restore Our Parks Act
2:50 Interview with John Garder
11:00 National Parks Traveler promotion
11:17 Washington's National Park Fund promotion
11:55 Friends of Acadia promotion
12:28 Interview with John Garder continues
20:29 Grand Teton National Park Foundation promotion
21:05 Yankee Freedom promotion
21:45 Interview with Becky Lomax, author of Mooon USA National Parks
49:47 Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation promotion
50:15 North Cascades Institute promotion
50:41 Commentary: Secrecy surrounding Camden Spaceport
53:45 Orange Tree Productions

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National Parks Traveler Podcast Episode 307 | A Walk in the Park

Many of us like to take a walk in our favorite national park, whether it’s a short stroll down one of the boardwalks at Yellowstone National Park, the hike to the top of Old Rag at Shenandoah National Park, or up the Mist Trail at Yosemite National Park, we like to get out and experience parks up close.

December 29th, 2024 Read More

National Parks Traveler Podcast Episode 306 | Introducing St. Croix National Scenic Riverway

There are across the country more than 430 units of the National Park System. And no doubt, most of us are only familiar with the so-called name brand parks. Places like Shenandoah, Acadia, Everglades, Yellowstone, Yosemite, the Grand Canyon… But just because you’re not already familiar with a park unit doesn’t mean you should write it off your to-do list.

December 22nd, 2024 Read More

National Parks Traveler Podcast Episode 305 | The Elephant Seals of Point Reyes

Elephant seals are not your small, cuddly marine mammals. They are behemoths. Males, known as bulls, can reach 5,000 pounds, while females, known as cows, routinely clock in at around 1,000 pounds or so.
 

December 15th, 2024 Read More

National Parks Traveler Podcast Episode 304 | Into the Thaw

Most, if not all of us, have bucket lists. Places we want to visit…but don’t always get the opportunity.
 
This is Kurt Repanshek, your host at the National Parks Traveler. One of the destinations on my bucket list is Gates of Arctic National Park and Preserve and the Noatak River that runs through it. A week or two floating the river sounds pretty ideal to me.
 

December 8th, 2024 Read More

National Parks Traveler Podcast Episode 303 | Change Happens

Change happens…and sometimes it doesn’t.

Change certainly is underway in Washington, where the incoming Trump administration is putting its players in position with promises of changing, or maybe upsetting, the status quo.

Against that, the National Park Service continues to face long-standing problems with not enough staff or funding, compounded by National Park System damage from hurricanes, tornadoes, sea level rise, wildfires, just about everything under the sun.

December 1st, 2024 Read More

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