Tom Smith, a professor of wildlife sciences at Brigham Young University and a member of the National Rifle Association, discusses how effective guns in backcountry locations are in defending against bear attacks. What he says might surprise you. This episode also looks at the Volcanic Legacy Highway that ties Lassen Volcanic National Park and Crater Lake National Park together.

:02 Welcome to National Parks Traveler
:12 Episode introduction with Kurt Repanshek
1:48 Introduction to Thomas Smith's discussion on protecting yourself from bear attacks with guns
2:36 Thomas Smith interview
14:34 National Parks Traveler promotion
14:48 Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation promotion
15:14 Yankee Freedom promotion
15:49 Thomas Smith interview continues
38:54 RVShare.com promotion
39:28 Friends of Acadia promotion
39:57 North Cascades Institute promotion
40:21 Volcanic Legacy Highway
44:32 Washington's National Park Fund promotion
45:07 Yosemite Conservancy promotion
45:43 Commentary: Close The Parks
51:07 Orange Tree Productions promotion
National Parks Traveler Podcast Episode 327 | Plight of the Parks
So much is happening so quickly to the National Park Service. There have been staff reductions, hiring freezes, spending freezes, orders from the Interior Secretary to make sure that visitors find national parks welcoming, no matter what it takes.
National Parks Traveler Podcast Episode 326 | Environmental Partisanship
Is green a red and blue construct? Put another way, is there a political partisan divide over the environment?
That’s a particularly interesting question, no doubt more so in recent years as the country seems to have drifted farther and farther apart because of our political beliefs. To that point, a reader reached out the other day to say our stories shouldn’t be negative on the Trump Administration because the national parks are going to need the help of all of us - Democrats, Republicans, Independents, and everything in-between - to survive.
National Parks Traveler Podcast Episode 325 | Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility
News around public lands these days seems to revolve entirely around the Trump administration. In the case of Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, many of the steps the administration is taking with the operational efficiencies of the National Park Service and other land management agencies certainly are keeping PEER busy.
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.
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.
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Comments
Great podcast, it not only addresses guns and bears but includes a lot of information on keeping yourself safe in a backcountry bear encounter. I had not been a big podcast fan but after listening to this one I have gone back and listened to several others from Nat Parks Traveler. Keep up the good work.