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In this week’s show, we’re taking a look at some of the crowding issues that national park managers are struggling to address. But this one at Gulf Islands National Seashore in Florida is a bit more unusual than many others. You might have heard about Crab Island, Florida. It’s a lively spot within the national seashore that attracts throngs of partiers, personal watercraft, and businesses that sell everything from frozen bananas to hot boiled peanuts.  

What’s wrong with that? Well, not only are there fatalities associated with this partying, but this "island" really is just a submerged sand bar, and it serves as a vital nursery area for Gulf of Mexico fisheries and has been identified as a critical resource in the national seashore.

This area -- with its dozens of unauthorized floating food vendors, bars, and large moored structures -- has been for the most part unregulated and unmanaged over the past decade or so due to jurisdiction complexities between the National Park Service, the state of Florida, Okaloosa County and Eglin Air Force Base.  

So to determine an appropriate level of commercial activity in this area and its relation to the severe safety and environmental problems there, the National Park Service has begun developing a Commercial Services Strategy that will provide a guide to regulating and managing the area.  

Traveler’s Lynn Riddick reached out to Gulf Islands Superintendent Dan Brown to discuss the early stages of strategy development, including the collection of public input from various commercial stakeholders.

:02 National Parks Traveler introduction
:12 Episode introduction with Kurt Repanshek
1:58 Beyond the Reef - Tim Heintz and Grant Geissman - Seascapes: A Musical Journey
2:51 Western National Parks Association promotion
3:15 WildTribute.com promotion
3:39 Friends of Acadia promotion
4:14 Gulf Islands National Seashore Supt. Dan Brown discusses the issues at Crab Island with Lynn Riddick
26:13 Whispering Winds - Grant Geissman - Sounds of the Caribbean
26:27 National Parks Traveler promotion
26:43 Washington’s National Park Fund promotion
27:18 Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation promotion
27:41 Grand Teton National Park Foundation promotion
28:13 North Cascades Institute promotion
28:37 Supt. Brown's conversation with Lynn Riddick over Crab Island issues continues
46:23 Caribbean Song - Tim Heintz - The Sounds of the Everglades
46:38 Gulf Islands National Seashore has a mobile app for you
48:37 Episode Closing
49:00 Orange Tree Productions promotion
49:34 Splitbeard Productions
49:47 National Parks Traveler footer

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

National Parks Traveler Podcast Episode 319 | Kilauea's Unrest

One of the greatest shows on Earth has been going on now for several months in Hawaii, where the Kīlauea volcano at Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park has been erupting since late December. The Kīlauea volcano is the most active volcano on Earth.

March 30th, 2025 Read More

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