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National Parks Traveler Episode 12: The National Parks Girl

Who is "thenationalparksgirl.com"? In this week's Traveler podcast, Erika Zambello tracks down Sonja Saxe to discuss her national park explorations. Erika and her husband also visit Gulf Islands National Seashore to catch dinner. They didn't go in search of just any fish, but specifically for pompeno. We conclude with a question of whether Dinosaur National Monument should be renamed "Dinosaur National Park"?

:02 Welcome to National Parks Traveler

:06 Weekly introduction by Kurt Repanshek

1:26 Erika Zambello talks with Sonja Sax about her parks avocation.

8:13 National Parks Traveler promo

8:29 Vapur--the Anti-Bottle promo

9:05 Grand Teton National Park Foundation promo

9:46 Sonja Sax interview continued

16:28 Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation promo

16:55 Friends of Acadia promo

17:29 North Cascades Institute

17:51 Erika Zambello and her husband go fishing at Gulf Islands National Seashore

20:42 Yankee Freedom promo

21:19 Washington's National Park Fund promo

22:01 Yosemite Conservancy promo

22:47 Dinosaur National Monument…Should it be a "national park"?

27:28 Episode closing

27:39 Orange Tree Productions promo

28:17 Footer

National Parks Traveler Podcast Episode 324 | North American Bird Declines

True birders are some of the most determined and persistent hobbyists out there. If you want to call bird watching a hobby. For many, it’s more like a passion. Many look forward to “Big Day” competitions, where individuals and teams strive to see how many different bird species they can spot in a 24-hour period.

May 11th, 2025 Read More

National Parks Traveler Podcast Episode 323 | Walt Dabney and Public Lands

It’s fair to say that the nation’s public lands, those managed by the National Park Service, the Bureau of Land Management, the U.S. Forest Service and other federal land-management agencies are at risk under the Trump administration.

There’s no hyperbole in that statement if you pay attention to what the administration already has done in terms of downsizing those agencies’ workforces, and when you listen to Interior Secretary Doug Burgum say he wants to open more public lands to energy development and mining.

May 4th, 2025 Read More

National Parks Traveler Podcast Episode 322 | Congressman Jared Huffman

The first 100 days of President Donald Trump’s second term might be the most tumultuous first 100 days of any president. He certainly came in prepared to move his agenda forward, no matter what barriers to it existed.

We don’t usually discuss presidential politics, but President Trump has released a blizzard of executive orders and directives touching all corners of the federal government, including the National Park Service.

April 27th, 2025 Read More

National Parks Traveler Podcast Episode 321 | National Park Science At Risk

There has been much upheaval in the National Park Service this year, with firings, then rehires, and staff deciding to retire now rather than risk sticking around and being fired. There have been fears that more Park Service personnel are about to be let go through a reduction in force.

While Interior Secretary Doug Burgum has ordered the Park Service to ensure that parks are properly to support the operating hours and needs of each park unit,” that message said nothing about protecting park resources.

April 20th, 2025 Read More

National Parks Traveler Podcast Episode 320 | George Wright Society

George Melendez Wright was a brilliant young scientist with the National Park Service back in the 1920s and 1930s. You could say he was ahead of his time, in that he wanted the Park Service to take a holistic role in how wildlife in the parks was managed.

April 6th, 2025 Read More

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