National Parks Traveler is the world's top-rated, editorially independent, nonprofit media organization dedicated to covering national parks and protected areas on a daily basis. Traveler offers readers and listeners a unique multimedia blend of news, feature content, debate, and discussion all tied to national parks and protected areas.
National Parks Traveler Podcast
In this week’s show, we take a look at the outdoor recreation industry and how it has been impacted by the coronavirus pandemic. Overall, the industry has been hard hit, but there are some bright spots. Jessica Turner, executive director of the Outdoor Recreation Roundtable, and the organization's vice president, Lindsey Davis, discuss the state of the industry amid the coronavirus pandemic. We also take a look at the upcoming fundraiser for Outdoor Afro. Yosemite National Park Ranger Shelton Johnson will host the fundraiser for the organization that inspires and facilitates the connection of Black Americans to natural spaces everywhere.
In this week’s show, we question whether national parks can serve as a barrier to slow the sixth mass extinction.
Certainly, the large landscape parks such as Yellowstone and Yosemite and Grand Canyon offer the habitat many species require. But parks are slowly being hemmed in by development, making it harder and harder for species to follow their natural paths across the landscape.
So can they slow the sixth mass extinction? We’re going to be taking a look at that in the coming weeks and months, and today we’ll lay out that proposal in an essay.
In this week’s show, we’re focusing on the current coronavirus pandemic as well as the 1918 flu pandemic and how those diseases impacted national park visitation. After discussing those two pandemics with Professor Terence Young from California Polytechnic State University, we visit with contributing writer Rita Beamish, who tried to escape the current pandemic by taking to the John Muir Trail for nine days. She found that many other hikers were being careful by keeping their distance and wearing face masks when necessary, while others were more cavalier.
A few shows back, Episode 74 to be exact, we treated you to some wildlife sounds captured in the National Park System by a professional sound recording specialist. We’re going to revisit that a bit today, but by taking a deeper dive, if you will.
An early detection of a wildland fire in Denali National Park in June brings to light how enhanced satellite technology is catching smaller fires sooner, providing better detail and more accurate fire predictions and assessments. As a result, fire managers are better able to determine needed actions and resources to meet the unique conditions of Alaska’s landscape.
In this week’s show, we look back at the top news stories from the park system in July. There was the passage of the Great American Outdoors Act by Congress, the ongoing issue of the coronavirus pandemic and how parks have been dealing with it, and news that the renowned Sea Turtle Science and Recovery Program at Padre Island National Seashore is to be greatly scaled back.
We continue our look at residential environmental learning centers in this week's podcast. These nonprofit facilities connect people to nature. But they are tasked with serving a greater good -- to foster the development of better global citizens.
Nature is an incredibly powerful and successful teacher. Of course, students need teachers to deliver the lessons. That’s where Residential Environmental Learning Centers come into play in national parks.
Organizations like NatureBridge, the Cuyahoga Valley Institute, the Yellowstone Institute, the Great Smoky Mountains Institute. And the North Cascades Institute. These nonprofit organizations use national parks as their classrooms.
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The Essential RVing Guide
The National Parks RVing Guide, aka the Essential RVing Guide To The National Parks, is the definitive guide for RVers seeking information on campgrounds in the National Park System where they can park their rigs. It's available for free for both iPhones and Android models.
This app is packed with RVing specific details on more than 250 campgrounds in more than 70 parks.
You'll also find stories about RVing in the parks, some tips if you've just recently turned into an RVer, and some planning suggestions. A bonus that wasn't in the previous eBook or PDF versions of this guide are feeds of Traveler content: you'll find our latest stories as well as our most recent podcasts just a click away.
So whether you have an iPhone or an Android, download this app and start exploring the campgrounds in the National Park System where you can park your rig.
