National Parks Traveler Podcast

The sounds of Congaree National Park.

National Parks Traveler Editor Kurt Repanshek interviews Mike Marshall and Robert Hanna of Restore Hetch Hetchy.

National Parks Traveler Editor Kurt Repanshek interviews Adam Skurka.

National Parks Traveler Editor Kurt Repanshek interviews John Hennessy regarding Stonewall Jackson's arm.

National Parks Traveler Editor Kurt Repanshek interviews Dr. Donna Shaver regarding the Kemps Ridley sea turtles in the Gulf of Mexico.

National Parks Traveler Editor Kurt Repanshek interviews Senator Tom Udall regarding the promotion of our National Parks.

National Parks Traveler Editor Kurt Repanshek interviews Trevor Thomas, First blind person to thru-hike the ATC unassisted.

National Parks Traveler Editor Kurt Repanshek interviews Gerard Baker, Associate Director for American Indian Relations

National Parks Traveler Editor Kurt Repanshek interviews Doug Smith, project leader of gray wolf restoration in Yellowstone National Park.

National Parks Traveler Editor Kurt Repanshek interviews Jon Jarvis, director of the National Parks Service

National Parks Traveler Editor Kurt Repanshek Participates In Conference Call With NRDC

National Parks Traveler Editor Kurt Repanshek interviews Ken Burns

SOUND: Snowmobiles in [url=http://www.nps.gov/yell]Yellowstone National Park[/url]. KURT: At a time when politics in Washington truly are a “contact sport,” we shouldn’t be too surprised when we learn that science has been trumped when it comes to decisions affecting the national park system. Should we be disappointed? Of course. But surprised? Unfortunately not. These past seven years there long have been suspicions that politics shaped the National Park Service’s position on snowmobiling in Yellowstone National Park. Those suspicions gained tremendous weight when I talked with Fran Mainella, who a little over a year ago resigned from her position as director of the National Park Service. During her six years in office Ms. Mainella refused to call for a ban on snowmobiling in Yellowstone, even when two environmental impact studies and an environment assessment pointed to snow coaches as the environmentally preferred alternative for motorized winter recreation in the park. Now, though, she’s changed her p

Eugene Sayles survived the terrible explosion at Port Chicago on the night of July 17, 1944, but many of his colleagues did not. Located near San Francisco California, the Port Chicago Naval Magazine was a place where ordinance was transferred from rail cars to ships during World War II for operations in the Pacific. A small fire led first to a small explosion then 6 seconds later, a massive explosion that was felt up to 500 miles away. The explosion was the largest U.S. home front disaster during World War II, killing 320 men, 202 of whom were African American. The explosion, work stoppage, and subsequent mutiny trial provide insights into the injustice of racial discrimination, the African American experience in the US military, and home front life during the Second World War. These events ultimately led to the desegregation of the armed services in the United States. It is for these reasons that the site is now being considered before Congress as a site to be preserved unimpaired, managed by the Nationa

Take a minute to relax next to the cascading waters of Frijoles Creek in Bandelier National Monument. This short recording was made under the shade of the trees along the picnic road next to the creek. You'll be able to hear some birds chirping along, as well as a child's call about half-way through. And while it is anything but quiet, I think this is the type of natural soundscape that draws people out of the cities in search of the "peace and quiet" found in our national parks. This podcast was inspired by a website I've just recently stumbled across called 'quiet american'. I like very much the section called 'one-minute vacations'.

Secretary Kempthorne: "this is a giant leap for the National Park Service" You can hear it in his voice, can't you? Dirk Kempthorne is excited. The Secretary of the Interior announced today a list of 201 projects that are eligible for funding in the first year of the Centennial Initiative. The program could add as much as $2 Billion in new programs and projects for the parks, and $1 Billion for park operations over 10 years. In his remarks that follow, you can hear Mr. Kempthorne crow a little bit at the early success of the program, especially as it relates to the provision of the Centennial Challenge which depends on non-federal dollars for success. Critics of that aspect of the program, including us at the National Parks Traveler, had wondered if fundraising $100 million a year would be possible. The Secretary was quite happy to inform us today that the goal has been exceeded, and that he has commitments for $301 Million for projects in fiscal years 08 and 09. Aware of those who caution against bowing to

At the new National Parks Traveler, Kurt Repanshek and I have as a goal to provide original multimedia content about our parks. It's an advantage of the web that we can bring you audio and video programs from time to time. As part of an ongoing series, we'll provide interviews with folks who have special insight on the parks. Today I have a conversation with Nancy Bandley. Nancy has accomplished something very few others have done, she has visited every single unit of the National Park Service, all 391 of them. On her travels to the parks, she collects park passport stamps, and is very involved in a large community of folks who do the same. When she's not on the road traveling, she has found time to write a series of articles about travel to Alaska's National Parks for our website. If you've ever collected those little stamps in the Visitor Center, I think you'll enjoy what Nancy's got to share today.

Nearly one year ago, on the 90th anniversary of the National Park Service that Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne, while visiting Yellowstone National Park, introduced a program which would bring upwards of $3 Billion dollars in new funds for our parks. The ambitious program, called the Centennial Challenge, is geared to coincide with the 100th anniversary of the Park Service in 2016. Over the last year, the National Park Service has conducted listening sessions around the country, and talked with their parks to figure out the best programs on which to spend this money. We are expected to hear which programs have been selected at the end of this month, I'm guessing it will be on the 25th, on the 91st anniversary of the Park Service, and one year after the program was announced. Congress has not yet approved the Centennial Initiative yet. Yesterday, the National Park Service, represented by director Mary Bomar, and other groups met in subcommittee hearings for both the House and the Senate to answer que

In this third edition of the Park Remark audiocast, I have a phone conversation with Andrea Lankford who is the author of the book Haunted Hikes: Spine-Tingling Tales and Trails from North America's National Parks. Andrea and I have some fun covering some of the scary stories in her book. We also take a few minutes to cover the larger scope of these stories as they relate to cultural resource protection within the National Park Service. Our program starts with a reading from one of the stories in the book. Anrdea's set up a website with a little more detail on the book, which can be found at HauntedHiker.com. If you'd like to "try before you buy", she has a number of excerpts that are worth checking into. And while you there, have a look at some of the additional photos she has gathered on her journeys around the country.

Last week I had a chance to sit down and have an interview with Sean Smith, the Northwest Regional Director of the National Parks and Conservation Association. Sean was a lot of fun to talk to, I found him to be very knowledgeable about many park issues. I've edited our conversation down to 11 minutes 30 seconds, but there was a lot of the interview I had to leave on the virtual cutting room floor. Perhaps down the road, I'll reassemble the extras and create another audiocast. Today's conversation covers two big topics, the November storms which did many millions of dollars worth of damage to Northwest National Parks, and also covers the ongoing Park Service listening sessions.