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

By Jess Repanshek - February 2nd, 2025

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.

Climate change impacts are happening across the country, reaching into most, if not all, units of the National Park System. Sea level rise is particularly concerning because you just can’t up and move a park, and if that park is on an island, well, high water is coming.

This week the Traveler’s Lynn Riddick talks with Cape Lookout Superintendent Jeff West and authors of the USGS study about the challenges the National Park Service faces in creating sustainable coastal management practices for Cape Lookout.

0:02 National Parks Traveler introduction
0:12 Episode Intro with Kurt Repanshek
0:57 Whispering Winds - Grant Geissman - Sounds of the Caribbean
1:18 Washington National Park Foundation
1:42 Smokies Life
2:05 Friends of Acadia
2:28 Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation
2:49 NPT Promo
3:05 Episode 311 - Keeping Cape Lookout Above Water
49:30 No’Easter - Nature’s Symphony - The Sounds of Acadia
50:05 Episode Closing
50:34 Orange Tree Productions
51:07 Splitbeard Productions
51:18 National Parks Traveler footer

Cape Lookout National Seashore

National Parks Traveler Podcast

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