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National Parks Traveler Episode 92: Glacier Bay, Wildfires, and Rocky Mountain Conservancy

This week we visit with Estee Rivera, executive director of the Rocky Mountain Conservancy, to discuss the damage wildfires inflicted on Rocky Mountain National Park and the role the conservancy is taking in helping park staff rehabilitate areas impacted by the fires and interpret the intense fire season. 

And Kurt Repanshek visits with Kim Heacox, a former park ranger turned writer and photographer at Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve in Alaska. Heacox’s book, The Only Kayak, was reissued this year, 15 years after it first appeared. Heacox discusses the book and how climate change and visitors are altering Glacier Bay and other national parks in Alaska.

:02 National Parks Traveler introduction
:12 Episode introduction with Kurt Repanshek
1:07 Bass Harbor - Nature’s Symphony - The Sounds of Acadia
1:53 Rocky Mountain Conservancy Executive Director Estee Rivera discusses wildfire impact at Rocky Mountain National Park
15:21 Big Country - Randy Petersen - The Sounds of Yellowstone
15:44 National Parks Traveler promotion
15:58 WildTribute.com promotion
16:20 Grand Teton National Park Foundation promotion
16:51 Western National Parks Association promotion
17:18 The Only Kayak author Kim Heacox discusses Glacier Bay National Park and the impact of climate change and visitation on Alaska's national parks.
34:00 Wonder Lake - Various Artists - The Spirit of Alaska
34:33 Washington’s National Park Fund promotion
35:06 North Cascades Institute promotion
35:25 Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation promotion
35:49 Friends of Acadia promotion
36:18 Kurt Repanshek's conversation with Kim Heacox continues
54:49 Kenai Fjords - Various Artists - The Spirit of Alaska
55:15 Episode Closing
55:52 Orange Tree Productions promotion
56:27 Splitbeard Productions

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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