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
Michael Kellett, the executive director of RESTORE: The North Woods, discusses a campaign to see the size of the National Park System roughly tripled to more than 182 million acres. And Traveler contributing editor Erika Zambello and Becky Lomax, author of Moon’s USA National Parks, the Complete Guide to All 59 Parks, join Kurt Repanshek to discuss their favorite winter national park destinations.
The past year brought many news-making events to the National Park System. It started, of course, with the partial government shutdown that created more than a few problems for the park system, the continued lack of a Senate confirmed director of the National Park Service, hurricanes inflicting damage on coastal parks, and construction of a border wall in Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument that possibly destroyed some archaeological sites there. To help us look back on 2019 and the national parks, we’re joined by Theresa Pierno, president and CEO of the National Parks Conservation Association.
With many national parks across the country in trouble from such myriad threats as climate change, overcrowding, energy exploration, invasive species, and poor air quality, National Parks Traveler’s new “Threatened and Endangered Parks” lists, published today, identify parks that are struggling to retain the very essence that led to their inclusion in the National Park System in the first place. In this week's show, Phil Francis of the Coalition to Protect America's National Parks and Mark Wenzler from the National Parks Conservation Association discuss the threats facing the parks.
How big of a problem are invasive animal species in the National Park System? This week we examine the topic of invasive animal species – think Burmese pythons in Everglades National Park, wild hogs in Great Smoky Mountains National Park, and even feral cats at Cape Hatteras National Seashore – and how the National Park Service is working to tackle the problem. Traveler's staff looks at some of the most photogenic destinations in the National Park System. And we include some surprise locations.
Kyle Joly, a National Park Service wildlife biologist who long has studied terrestrial migrations in national park units in Alaska, discusses the longest land migrations in this week's show. Caribou and reindeer at the top of the long-distance travelers, but what about wolves? Contributing writer Kim O’Connell, fresh back from a visit to New Orleans, gives us a preview of her time at Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve.
How are Yellowstone National Park's grizzly bears faring? Kerry Gunther, the park's bear expert, joins the Traveler this week to discuss the current state of grizzlies in the park and whether their population is growing or dropping. Erika Zambello takes listeners on a short audio trip to Fort Matanzas National Monument in Florida.
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.
How is the health of saguaros at Saguaro National Park? While there's concern that one day Joshua trees might no longer grow in Joshua Tree National Park, or that Glacier National Park might lose its rivers of ice, what about Saguaro National Park and its iconic cacti? Kurt Repanshek travels to Saguaro National Park to discuss the decadal survey of saguaros with park biologist Don Swann. Erika Zambello heads to coastal Georgia for an off-season visit to Cumberland Island National Seashore.
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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.
