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National Parks Traveler Episode 54: Colorado River Economics, Rebranding Bandelier National Monument

In recent years there has been a movement of sorts to rebrand units of the National Park System as “national parks,” a movement motivated in large part by the economic boost such a redesignation is hoped to have. But in New Mexico a group is opposed to turning Bandelier National Monument into Bandelier National Park. We discuss that issue with Tom Ribe, executive director of Caldera Action.

But first, we continue our series on how the health of the Colorado River impacts Canyonlands National Park and Glen Canyon National Recreation Area in Utah. To get a better understanding of the river economics in play, we reached out to Megan Lawson, an economist with Headwaters Economics.

And for bonus content, an audio version of RVing The Parks | Choose Your National Park RV Carefully.

:02 National Parks Traveler introduction
:12 Episode introduction with Kurt Repanshek
2:24 Megan Lawson of Headwaters Economics discusses Colorado River economics and the impacts on Canyonlands National Park and Glen Canyon National Recreation Area
15:35 The Water Desk promotion
15:56 National Parks Traveler promotion
16:10 Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation promotion
16:36 Friends of Acadia promotion
17:06 RVShare.com promotion
17:46 Tom Ribe, executive director of Caldera Action, discusses the attempted rebranding of Bandelier National Monument as Bandelier National Park
39:35 Washington's National Park Fund promotion
40:10 Grand Teton National Park Foundation promotion
40:41 Yankee Freedom promotion
41:16 North Cascades Institute promotion
41:58 RVingThe Parks | Choose Your National Park RV Carefully
50:29 Episode closing
50:48 Orange Tree Productions promotion
51:22 National Parks Traveler footer

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.

May 25th, 2025 Read More

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.
 

May 18th, 2025 Read More

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

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