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How can the National Park System in the East grow bigger?

With the great rush to the outdoors that we’ve seen since the Covid pandemic erupted, there have been many calls for more space in the National Park System. While there are places in the West that seem to be logical additions to the parks there, that's not always the case in the East.

So, if we want more park lands east of the Mississippi, how could we gain them? That’s a good question, and one that the Traveler has been working on. To help answer that question, we’re joined today by Pam Goddard, the Mid-Atlantic senior program director for the National Parks Conservation Association, and Michael Sparks, a writer based in New York City who’s been working on the story. 

02 National Parks Traveler introduction
:12 Episode Introduction with Kurt Repanshek
:50 Shenandoah - The Sounds of Shenandoah - Randy Petersen
:59 Washington’s National Park Fund
1:33 Interior Federal Credit Union
2:10 Nova Scotia Tourism
2:41 Grand Teton National Park Foundation
3:13 A discussion focused on how to expand the National Park System in the East with Pam Goddard from the National Parks Conservation Association and writer Michael Sparks.
24:24 No’Easter - The Sounds of Acadia - Nature’s Symphony
24:42 Wild Tribute
25:10 Yosemite Conservancy
25:32 Potrero Group
25:59 Friends of Acadia
26:25 Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation
26:49 The discussion around eastern National Park System expansion continues
48:02 Blue Mist - The Sounds of Shenandoah - Randy Petersen
48:47 Episode Closing
49:15 Orange Tree Productions
49:47 Splitbeard Productions
49:58 National Parks Traveler footer

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National Parks Traveler Podcast Episode 295 | The Aftermath of Tropical Storm Helene

Who could have predicted that Hurricane Helene would carry her fury from the Gulf of Mexico and the coast of Florida hundreds of miles north into Appalachia? While there were forecasts calling for the hurricane to be downgraded to a tropical storm and drop quite a bit of rain in the region, the extent of damage in western North Carolina has been breathtaking.

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Concessions are the backbone of the National Park System. True, the National Park Service manages the parks and the wildlife and the visitors, but the concessionaires provide you with a bed, or campsite, to sleep in, restaurants to dine in, and gift shops to browse in.

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Wolves certainly fall under the charismatic megafauna classification. They're majestic and mystifying, and perhaps even lend some romanticism to your backcountry adventures if you are lucky enough to hear a pack howling in chorus after sundown. 

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National Parks Traveler Podcast Episode 291 | Campaign for the Parks

It was back in 1967 when the Congress chartered the National Park Foundation to serve as the official charity of the National Park Service, and over the decades it has raised millions of dollars for the parks.
 
The Foundation is in the midst of its Campaign for National Parks, a billion-dollar campaign that has already raised $815 million. A big chunk of that total came from a recent $100 million grant that greatly moved the foundation closer to its billion-dollar goal.
 

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