National Parks Traveler Podcast

National Parks probably have never been entirely immune from political influences, whether they came out of Washington, D.C., or close to a park's boundaries. But there's an argument that can be made, one backed up by evidence, that the past 50 years have seen the most attempts to subvert the mission of the National Park Service to preserve and protect natural resources unimpaired for the enjoyment of future generations. Jon Jarvis, the 18th director of the National Park Service under President Obama, and his brother Destry, who has a long career tied to conservation and the national parks, to discuss their new book, National Parks Forever, 50 Years Of Fighting And A Case For Independence. In it they call for the National Park Service to be broken out of the Interior Department in a bid to reduce political interference on the agency.

A new figure -- $21.8 billion -- has been attached to the National Park System's maintenance backlog. How will Congress react to that figure just a couple years after being told the number was around $13 billion?

National parks inspire a lot of things, from great adventures and beautiful landscape paintings to the names of cars and trucks to even music. In this week's podcast we invite you to tap your feet to the music as Lynn Riddick shares the stories of two vbands whose monikers and tunes are inspired by the national parks: National Park Radio, and the National Parks.

Everglades National Park very easily can be viewed as the poster child for invasive species. It's infested with non-native Burmese pythons, Argentine black and white tegus are making inroads, there is invasive vegetation like Melaleuca and Brazilian pepper, and nonnative fish are making their way into the park's ecosystems. Kurt Repanshek, editor of the National Parks Traveler, recently had a chance to sit down with Pedro Ramos, superintendent of Everglades National Park, to discuss the battles against these invasive species and look ahead to the park's 75th birthday this fall.

One trail you must take when you visit Everglades National Park is the Anhinga Trail at Royal Palm. You'll find a short boardwalk that takes you out over the waters of Taylor Slough and quickly discover that the mangroves and other trees that rise above the water are popular with anhingas, one of the park's most popular birds.

Lake Powell long has been the shimmering heart of Glen Canyon National Recreation Area in Utah and Arizona, but it's not the only asset of the NRA that covers 1.25 million acres. This is Kurt Repanshek, your host at the National Parks Traveler. Last year I had the good fortune to visit Glen Canyon NRA twice –- once in May to kayak Lake Powell -- and then in July when I backpacked into the park's backcountry to not just admire its beauty but watch efforts to reverse the spread of invasive vegetation in the park. But not all is well with the NRA. A drought said to be the longest in 1,200 years has left Lake Powell at its lowest level since it began filling in 1963. It reached its full impoundment in 1980. But shrinking snowpack levels in the Colorado River drainage in recent years has failed to generate enough runoff into Lake Powell to more than offset the water running through the hydroelectric generating station in the Glen Canyon Dam. To discuss the state of Lake Powell, and Glen Canyon National Recreation Area as a whole, we've invited Glen Canyon Superintendent Bill Shott to join us. We'll be back in a minute with the superintendent.

A great way to experience Everglades National Park is to go on a "slough slog" into a cypress dome. Ranger Yvette Cano led National Parks Traveler Editor Kurt Repanshek on such a wet hike in search of a gator hole.

Lyndon Baines Johnson had a staggering impact on the United States during his time as president. Much of his approach to government was instilled during his early life in Texas. In this, part two of her podcast on the Lyndon B. Johnson National Historical Park, the Traveler's Lynn Riddick visits the president's boyhood home and ranch. The LBJ Ranch was where he was born, lived, died, and was buried.

Those who have ascended to the presidency of the United States are products of the environments in which they were born, raised, and educated. Their early experiences usually have a significant effect on how they manage their presidency and the subsequent policy and programs developed under their watch. Lyndon Baines Johnson is a fitting example of that. His presidency was guided in full measure by his upbringing, his personal experiences with poverty and shame and his observation of racism and hate. The National Parks Traveler's Lynn Riddick begins a two-part series on the unique Lyndon B. Johnson National Historical Park, which offers the most complete picture of any American president. Guided by park official Brian Vickers, Lynn takes us through the site's two distinct districts – the Johnson City District and the LBJ Ranch District –to learn about Johnson's compelling cradle-to-grave story and the forces that shaped his life.

Some 615,000 visitors a year flock to the hard-packed gray sands of Padre Island National Seashore along the Gulf Coast of Texas. This undeveloped national seashore boasts an abundance of natural wonders in its tidal flats, dunes and grasslands. Ample solitude can be found on it 65-mile stretch of beach, including 60 miles that are only accessible by four-wheel drive. The Traveler's Lynn Riddick takes an in-depth look at Padre Island National Seashore and finds that not only is it a popular destination for campers, windsurfers, and anglers, but history buffs might find intrigue in the remnants of early settlements, cattle ranches and military installations found there.