You are here

Share
A photo of a sea turtle swimming towards a coral reef at Virgin Islands National Park. NPS photo, Susanna Pershern

Did you know that there are some five and a half million acres of our National Parks that are underwater? There are sunken ships and aircraft. There are remnants of industry and mining. There are coral reefs and underwater caverns.
The Submerged Resources Center of the National Park Service is where these water resources are explored and documented. Underwater photography is crucial in the understanding of what lies beneath the surface, and images taken by the SRC Staff are essential not only for mapping and documenting, but to help the parks address issues and solve problems.
This week, the Traveler’s Lynn Riddick sits down with Brett Seymour, the Submerged Resources Center Deputy Chief and Audio-Visual Production Specialist who has spent some thirty years with the Park Service, photographing the mysteries below the surface.

For more on the Submerged Resources Center, check out Episode 116 - Diving Into the National Park System.

0:02 National Parks Traveler introduction
0:12 Episode Intro with Kurt Repanshek
0:50 Beyond the Reef - Tim Heintz & Grant Geissman - Seascapes: A Musical Journey
1:14 Smokies Life
1:37 Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation
2:00 NPT Promo
2:45 Episode 276 - Underwater Photography with the Submerged Resources Center
1:07:30 Whispering Winds - Grant Geissman - Sounds of the Caribbean
1:08:44 Episode Closing
1:09:30 Orange Tree Productions
1:10:03 Splitbeard Productions
1:10:14 National Parks Traveler footer

Add comment

As the National Mammal and a symbol closely tied to the National Park Service and the national parks, bison are highly revered in the United States. But that doesn’t mean they’re free of controversy.

June 16th, 2024 - Read More

There is so much rich history across the National Park System, from chapters of the Revolutionary War held in parks in the eastern half of the country to stories from the gold rush that stampeded through Alaska during the late 1890s.
 
This is Kurt Repanshek, your host at The National Parks Traveler. I’ve always been fascinated with history. And when you look at parks in the eastern half of the country, the reservoir is so much deeper than in the western half if only for the reason that more was written down.
 

June 9th, 2024 - Read More

Recently I read “The Wolverine Way”, by Douglas Chadwick. It’s a book from 2012 that really dives into the lives of wolverines, a small mammal with a cantankerous reputation that the US Fish and Wildlife Service late last year announced would be a threatened species. The book is a fascinating biography, if you will, of wolverines.

June 2nd, 2024 - Read More

Did you know that there are some five and a half million acres of our National Parks that are underwater? There are sunken ships and aircraft. There are remnants of industry and mining. There are coral reefs and underwater caverns.

May 26th, 2024 - Read More

Summer is almost here. The upcoming Memorial Day weekend is the official kickoff to the summer travel season, and I’m happy to say that the National Parks Traveler will be continuing to bring you news about the parks and how you can enjoy them.
As much as Editor-in-Chief Kurt Repanshek was looking forward to retiring, listener and reader support has enabled the news organization to continue on with its editorially independent coverage of National Parks and protected areas.

May 19th, 2024 - Read More

The Essential RVing Guide

The Essential RVing Guide to the National Parks

The National Parks RVing Guide, aka the Essential RVing Guide To The National Parks, is the definitive guide for RVers seeking information on campgrounds in the National Park System where they can park their rigs. It's available for free for both iPhones and Android models.

This app is packed with RVing specific details on more than 250 campgrounds in more than 70 parks.

You'll also find stories about RVing in the parks, some tips if you've just recently turned into an RVer, and some planning suggestions. A bonus that wasn't in the previous eBook or PDF versions of this guide are feeds of Traveler content: you'll find our latest stories as well as our most recent podcasts just a click away.

So whether you have an iPhone or an Android, download this app and start exploring the campgrounds in the National Park System where you can park your rig.