National Parks Traveler Podcast

This week we take a look at the outdoor recreation industry and how it has been impacted by 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.  But first, what can turn a five-day trip to Yosemite National Park into a one-day trip to Assateague Island National Seashore? Covid can. In this lighthearted and informative story of their trip to the beach, the Traveler’s Lynn Riddick and her friend Michele Hogan demonstrate that it’s all about flexibility when trying to find some outdoor space in the age of a global pandemic.

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.

National parks offer a variety of treasures: spectacular views, scenic trails and waterways and vast ecosystems of plants and wildlife. And what would these things be without accompanying soundscapes -- wind howling through a canyon on a scorching afternoon… or the “wall-of-sound” created by insects as soon as the sun sets… or birds singing so loudly outside your tent, they wake you up before you really wanted to wake up. For natural sound, too, is a treasure, and like many other aspects of the national parks affected by too much human activity.

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. National ParksTraveler’s Lynn Riddick spoke with Alaska fire analyst Robert “Zeke” Ziel about this satellite technology, and Larry Weddle, National Park Service fire management officer for the Alaska Western Area and Denali National Park and Preserve, on how the season peaked without much drama this year.

We look back at the top news stories from the National 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. Joining host Kurt Repanshek to discuss some of the news impacting national parks in July is Mike Murray, a member of the executive council of the Coalition to Protect America’s National Parks.

Residential environmental learning centers are nonprofit facilities that connect people to nature. But they are tasked with serving a greater good -- to foster the development of better global citizens. Lynn Riddick speaks with Catey McClary of the Great Smoky Mountains Institute at Tremont to better understand this organization whose roots in outdoor learning go back some 50 years.

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. Lynn Riddick talks with Saul Weisberg to understand how the North Cascades Institute teaches children well.

Have you ever stopped to listen during your national park vacation? What do you hear? We share some of the sounds in this week's episode with hopes they inspire you to let your ears play a greater role in your enjoyment during your national park visit.

The survival of Residential Environmental Learning Centers in national parks is in jeopardy. As the president of one such center says, “the impact of coronavirus is an 'extinction-level event.'” Listen to how they are working to keep their doors open.