National Parks Traveler Podcast

Today we’re talking adventures, friendships, and the environment with Rick Ridgeway, who has traveled the world seeking adventure and, along the way, debated and discussed environmental consciousness with his friends, colleagues and peers. Rick, a climber, kayaker, explorer, filmmaker, and thoughtful writer, has a new book out, Life Lived Wild, that chronicles many of the adventures he’s embarked upon the past five decades or so. 

It’s been said that the night sky represents the other half of the National Park System. It’s in the national parks where you can experience some of the darkest skies you’ll find anywhere. Our guest this week knows all about that. Artist, author, astronomer and Night Sky Ambassador Doctor Tyler Nordgren talks with the Traveler’s Lynn Riddick about the cosmic opportunity that the parks offer to teach the public about astronomy.

Feral hogs are just one of several species of invasive mammals that are posing immense challenges for national park managers. Unlike invasive insects or reptiles, invasive mammals are often larger and more “charismatic” animals, difficult for parks to eradicate from a logistical, financial, and emotional perspective. 

Enter the National Park System and you won’t come away disappointed when you realize all that awaits you. At Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, it’s impossible not to be awed by the volcanism that created the Hawaiian islands, and which is on full display at the crater atop the Kīlauea volcano. Jessica Ferracane, the park’s public affairs specialist, gave me a primer on Kīlauea during an early November visit. Her broad knowledge of the park and its two volcanoes and enthusiasm in discussing all things Hawaii Volcanoes National Park quickly came across.

The national parks have never been more popular...or more threatened. Now through the end of the year, we are asking for your support for a fundraising campaign to ensure the National Parks Traveler’s ongoing coverage of national parks and protected areas.  

For Grand Teton National Park, this year has, to put it bluntly, been crazy busy. In September the park counted 570,584 visitors, the second-highest tally for that month in park history. Notably, it pushed the park’s year-to-date visitation to 3,493,937, a record for an entire year, and with October, November, and December to go. Grand Teton Superintendent Chip Jenkins discusses the impacts of that visitation.

The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee questioned Mr. Sams this past week during his confirmation hearing. He’s an interesting nominee. He’s from outside the National Park Service, and if confirmed he would be the first Native American director of the Park Service. Discussing his nomination are Phil Francis of the Coalition to Protect America’s National Parks, and Kristen Brengel of the National Parks Conservation Association.

Editor-in-Chief Kurt Repanshek and Contributing Editor Kim O'Connell discuss news from around the National Park System, from black bear incidents along the Blue Ridge Parkway to a Yellowstone visitor being sentenced to jail for getting too close to a grizzly bear sow and her cubs.  

Why visit Cumberland Gap National Historical Park? The gap was the portal to the heart of the country, as Daniel Boone discovered in the 1700s. And it's the one unit of the National Park System where you can take turns standing in Tennessee, Kentucky, and Virginia. Lynn Riddick gives you a brief preview of the historical park with this audio postcard.

We’re in the middle of a world-wide extinction crisis. Here in the United States, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service just announced that nearly two dozen species, from the Ivory-billed woodpecker to two freshwater fish species, are extinct. How are wildlife in the parks doing? To explore that and other questions surrounding wildlife, we’re joined by Dr. Joel Berger, a senior scientist with the Wildlife Conservation Society as well as the Barbara Cox Anthony University Chair in Wildlife Conservation at Colorado State University.