National Parks Traveler Episode 105: Yellowstone's Covid Storm, Seeking Oil In Big Cypress

By Kurt Repanshek - February 14th, 2021

As Covid-19 swept across the country last year, it certainly created challenges for the National Park Service. Once parks opened, people flocked to them. But many parks were short of staff. Yellowstone National Park Superintendent Cam Sholly discusses the challenges his staff faced with Covid. Plus, Alison Kelly from the Natural Resources Defense Council brings us up to speed on a proposal to drill for oil in Big Cypress National Preserve.

Next week we return with Superintendent Sholly to discuss other issues in Yellowstone, such as infrastructure needs and conservation work.

:02 National Parks Traveler introduction
:12 Episode introduction with Kurt Repanshek
2:20 Spring Fever - Bill Mize - The Sounds of the Everglades
1:22 Potrero Group
1:53 Western National Parks Association
2:16 Friends of Acadia
2:47 A conversation with Yellowstone National Park Superintendent Cam Sholly
18:26 Black Woods - Nature’s Symphony - The Sounds of Acadia
18:53 National Parks Traveler
19:08 Washington’s National Park Fund
19:42 Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation
20:06 Grand Teton National Park Foundation
20:36 North Cascades Institute
21:01 An update on efforts to drill for oil at Big Cypress National Preserve with Alison Kelly from the Natural Resources Defense Council.
36:40 Beyond the Reef - Tim Heintz and Grant Geissman - Seascapes: A Musical Journey
37:08 Episode Closing
37:29 Orange Tree Productions promotion
38:04 Splitbeard Productions
38:15 National Parks Traveler footer

Add new comment

National Parks Traveler Podcast

Comments

Submitted by Bill Baehr on February 15, 2021 - 12:12pm.

Why were campgrounds closed in Yellowstone until August 26 but campgorunds were already open in Grand Teton in June? Is there an enviromental difference or what is the reason for inconsistent rules between Parks? Also would you ask Cam and all Park managers when you interview them what they are doing to eliminate systemic racism in the National Park staffing. https://www.eenews.net/stories/1063447583

Add comment

form.antibot { display: none !important; } You must have JavaScript enabled to use this form.

National Parks Traveler Podcast Episode 317 | A Little Volcanic Levity

In this week’s podcast we thought we’d take a break from the unsettling news happening in and around our national parks and federal lands regarding park staff reductions and threats of reducing park boundaries to make way for mining.

March 16th, 2025 Read More

National Parks Traveler Podcast Episode 316 | National Park Service Upheaval

There is, across the country, some upheaval going on as the Trump administration works to reduce the size of the federal government. Whether you support that effort or oppose it, you can’t deny there’s not upheaval going on.

March 9th, 2025 Read More

National Parks Traveler Podcast Episode 315 | Threatened Lands

Across the United States there are hundreds of millions of acres of public lands. Indeed, there are more than 500 million acres of federal lands managed by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, the U.S. Forest Service, and the National Park Service, just to name the three largest land managers in federal government.

March 2nd, 2025 Read More

National Parks Traveler Podcast Episode 314 | NPS Cast Aside

It was just over a week ago, on Valentine’s Day, that the Trump administration wiped 1,000 employees off the National Park Service staff without any apparent strategy other than that they were dispensable staff still on probation and so lacking any real protection for being fired without cause.

February 26th, 2025 Read More

National Parks Traveler Podcast Episode 313 | National Parks in Crisis

The Trump administration’s determination to reduce the size of government regardless of the cost is having a hard impact on the National Park Service.

Last month the agency was forced to rescind job offers to seasonal workers, saw a hold placed on millions of dollars distributed through the Biden administration's Inflation Reduction Act to address climate change, been told to prepare a reduction-in-force list of employees, and ordered to "hire no more than one employee for every four" let go.

February 16th, 2025 Read More

INN Member

The easiest way to explore RV-friendly National Park campgrounds.

The Essential RVing Guide to the National Parks

Here’s the definitive guide to National Park System campgrounds where RVers can park their rigs.

Our app is packed with RVing- specific details on more than 250 campgrounds in more than 70 national parks.

You’ll also find stories about RVing in the parks, tips helpful if you’ve just recently become an RVer, and useful planning suggestions.

The Essential RVing Guide to the National Parks