National Parks Traveler Podcast | Florida's Ailing Reef

National Parks Traveler Podcast | Florida's Ailing Reef

Author: Kurt Repanshek April 5, 2026 Duration: 52:44

Warming oceans, pollution, more potent hurricanes, anchor drops, dredging and trawling. The Florida Reef struggles with a lot of impacts today. In fact, only about 2 percent of the reef that stretches some 350 miles from Biscayne National Park past Everglades National Park and down to Dry Tortugas National Park is covered with living coral.

For several months now at the National Parks Traveler we've been building an ongoing series of stories and podcasts focused on impacts to the Florida Reef and whether it can be saved. Today our guest is Dr. Erinn Fuller, an associate vice president for research, senior scientist, and coral health and disease program manager at the Mote Aquarium in Florida. 

Dr. Fuller is on the forefront of efforts to offset impacts to the Florida Reef and restore its corals. She'll explain the various impacts to the reef and the work being done to offset them. 


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 | 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…
National Parks Traveler Podcast | Shrinking Mount Rainier [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 55:49
Gazing up at mountains from their valleys down below, it's hard, if not impossible, to detect any change on the top of the mountains. But change is ongoing, especially in recent history as the climate continues to warm.…