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Why expand the National Park System? That can be a controversial question. There are many folks who would love to see additional units added, and there are just as many who say the National Park Service does not have the staff or funding to adequately maintain the existing park system.

We’ve been exploring that question in recent weeks and months, and an argument can be made that since national parks carry the highest protection of natural resources in the country, we should expand the park system to better protect biodiversity and, if possible, help it grow.

In this week’s show, Lynn Riddick helps me present you with a story that explores the question of expanding the National Park System for the sake of biodiversity. If you prefer reading the story, rather than having it narrated to you, the long-form post is on the Traveler.

At the end of our story about expanding the park system, Lynn returns with a short audio postcard from Big Cypress National Preserve.

:02 National Parks Traveler introduction
:12 Episode Intro with Kurt Repanshek
1:03 Shenandoah - Randy Petersen - The Sounds of Shenandoah
1:21 Potrero Group
1:47 Great Smoky Mountains Association
2:08 Yosemite Conservancy
2:32 Interior Federal Credit Union
3:00 National Parks Expansion
25:21 Flamingo - Tim Heintz - The Sounds of the Everglades
25:39 NPT Promo
25:52 Friends of Acadia
26:17 The Everglades Foundation
26:28 Grand Teton National Park Foundation
26:58 Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation
27:20 Washington’s National Park Fund
27:56 Exploring Big Cypress with Lynn Riddick
36:00 No’easter - Nature’s Symphony - The Sounds of Acadia
36:28 Episode Closing
36:46 Orange Tree Productions
38:19 Splitbeard Productions
38:29 National Parks Traveler footer

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National Parks Traveler Podcast Episode 312 | The Ghost Forest

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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.

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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. 

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