Horses can be found in many corners of the National Park System. You spot them running wild at Theodore Roosevelt National Park in North Dakota, splashing in the surf at Cape Lookout National Seashore in North Carolina and at Assateague Island National Seashore in Maryland and Virginia, and of course as pack animals and tireless steeds that carry both rangers and visitors through the parks.
But wild horses are somewhat of a conundrum in the National Park System. They’re a conundrum because they technically are not wild, but rather feral, meaning that they descended from domesticated horses. As such, they technically are not native wildlife in the parks, and that has become an issue in some parts of the park system.
At Theodore Roosevelt National Park, the National Park Service has raised the question of whether the horses there, as livestock, not native wildlife, should be removed from the park. A recent comment period on that proposal drew more than 7,000 comments, just 45 of which supported removal of the horses.
Across the country, at Cumberland Island National Seashore along the coast of Georgia, there also are feral horses, and their plight has surfaced in the form of a lawsuit that claims that animals not only are damaging the seashore's environment and impacting two federally protected species, but are not being humanely managed by the National Park Service and should be removed from the seashore.
We’ll explore that issue today with Hal Wright, the attorney who brought the lawsuit, Patty Livingston, president of both the Georgia Equine Rescue League and the Georgia Horse Council and one of the plaintiffs, and Jessica Howell-Edwards, executive director of Wild Cumberland, an advocacy group for the seashore.
By Jess Repanshek - May 28th, 2023
:02 National Parks Traveler introduction
:12 Episode Intro with Kurt Repanshek
1:44 Shee Beg Shee Mor - Nature’s Symphony - The Sounds of Acadia
2:16 Grand Teton National Park Foundation
2:45 Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation
3:08 Potrero Group
3:37 The Horses of Cumberland Island
15:30 Whispering Winds - Grant Geissman - The Sounds of the Caribbean
15:46 Traveler Promo
15:58 Washington’s National Park Fund
16:32 Great Smoky Mountains Association
16:52 The Everglades Foundation
17:09 The Horses of Cumberland Island continues
34:24 Caribbean Song - Tim Heintz - The Sounds of the Everglades
34:36 Interior Federal Credit Union
34:56 Friends of Acadia
35:21 Yosemite Conservancy
35:47 The Horses of Cumberland Island continues
44:55 Amaranth - Bill Mize - The Sounds of the Great Smoky Mountains
45:27 Episode Closing
45:43 Orange Tree Productions
46:16 Splitbeard Productions
46:26 National Parks Traveler footer
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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The easiest way to explore RV-friendly National Park campgrounds.
Here’s the definitive guide to National Park System campgrounds where RVers can park their rigs.
Our app is packed with RVing- specific details on more than 250 campgrounds in more than 70 national parks.
You’ll also find stories about RVing in the parks, tips helpful if you’ve just recently become an RVer, and useful planning suggestions.
