National Parks Traveler Podcast | Coastal Climate Change Impacts

National Parks Traveler Podcast | Coastal Climate Change Impacts

Author: Kurt Repanshek July 14, 2024 Duration: 50:53

Along 1,600 miles of the Eastern Seaboard, from Maine to Florida, sea level rise, subsidence, and more potent storms are challenging the National Park Service to figure out how best to protect wildlife and their habitats, as well as historic structures, archaeological sites, modern infrastructure, landscapes, and, of course, visitors.
In the coming months, the National Parks Traveler will be examining impacts tied to climate change and how the National Park Service is responding to them. We'll bring you the concerns of residents and communities that are left with the damage from hurricanes and the loss of tax revenues from tourism and trace the strain these events have on the Park Service staff and budget.
We'll also talk to experts about how natural landscapes, such as barrier reefs and salt marshes, and wildlife are being impacted. We're going to have one of those conversations today with two experts from The Nature Conservancy: Dr. Alison Branco, TNC's Climate Adaptation Director, and Dr. Nicole Maher, the organization's Senior Coastal Scientist.


There's a world of stories waiting beyond the park entrance sign, and the National Parks Traveler Podcast is your audio guide to them. Led by Kurt Repanshek, this series goes deeper than trail maps and visitor statistics. It connects the natural wonder you experience firsthand with the crucial, often unseen work happening behind the scenes-the science informing conservation, the cultural histories embedded in the landscape, and the policy decisions that will shape these places for future generations. As the audio companion to the editorially independent nonprofit media organization, this podcast delivers a thoughtful blend of on-the-ground reports, interviews with researchers and park staff, and nuanced discussions about the challenges and triumphs in managing protected areas. You'll hear the sounds of the parks and the voices of the people dedicated to them. Each episode is an invitation to better understand the complex tapestry of ecology, history, and society that makes every national park far more than a scenic destination. Tune in for a regular dose of insight that will deepen your appreciation and perhaps even shape your next journey into America's most treasured public lands.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 100

National Parks Traveler Podcast
Podcast Episodes
National Parks Traveler Podcast | Florida Coral Reef Rescue [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 44:20
The Florida Reef stretches from Biscayne National Park south past Everglades National Park and down to Dry Tortugas National Park in Florida. It's roughly 350 miles long, and is the only coral reef in the continental Uni…
National Parks Traveler Podcast | Saving Whitebark Pines [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 37:21
Whitebark pines are a Western icon that the National Park Service has designated as a "vital sign" species because they are critical to ecosystem functions. But they are at risk of extinction due to climate change, beetl…
National Parks Traveler Podcast | Kemp's Ridley Sea Turtles [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 52:09
What is the fate of the critically endangered Kemp's Ridley Sea Turtle? This smallest of the sea turtle species glides among the sea grasses and coral reefs of the Gulf of Mexico, and nests predominantly along the shores…
National Parks Traveler Podcast | Yellowstone's North Entrance [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 47:17
During a typical summer day at Yellowstone National Park roughly 3,000 vehicles enter through the North Entrance and head down to Mammoth Hot Springs so their passengers can begin their park adventure. Up until June 2022…
National Parks Traveler Podcast | The Fate of the Honeycreeper [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 45:09
A dramatic battle is being waged on the flanks of Halealakā National Park to save rare Honeycreeper birds that exist only in Hawaii. It's believed that the 50-odd known living or extinct species of honeycreepers all evol…
National Parks Traveler Podcast | Year in Review [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 52:31
This year, 2025, likely will go down as the most transitional for the National Park Service. We've seen the loss of nearly a quarter of the permanent workforce, efforts to whitewash history in some parks, and the loss of…
National Parks Traveler Podcast | Historic Preservation in the Parks [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 39:27
A century of seasons has worn the appearance of the log cabin Roy Fure built in present-day Katmai National Park and Preserve in Alaska, but his care of the small cabin, and later National Park Service restoration effort…
National Parks Traveler Podcast | Endemic Haleakalā [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 44:14
Haleakalā National Park is deceptively wonderful and rich in biodiversity. But if we're not careful, we could lose some of that biodiversity. Located on the island of Maui in Hawaii, the first thing you notice about this…