National Parks Traveler Podcast | Fossilized Parks

National Parks Traveler Podcast | Fossilized Parks

Author: Kurt Repanshek April 28, 2024 Duration: 49:35

Have you ever closely inspected the landscape when you're touring the National Park System, particularly in the West? You never know what you might find.

Back in 2010 a 7-year-old attending a Junior Ranger program at  Badlands National Park spied a partially exposed fossil that turned out to be the skull of a 32-million-year-old saber-toothed cat.

If you've ever visited Petrified Forest National Park you've no doubt marveled over the colorful fossilized tree trunks. There are also fossilized trees on the northern range of Yellowstone National Park, but nowhere near as colorful.

For this week's episode we've invited Vince Santucci, the National Park Service's senior paleontologist, to discuss the many fossil resources that exist across the National Park System, from coast to coast and north to south.


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 | ATC at 100 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 51:16
Anniversaries and birthdays give us time to reflect on individuals, accomplishments, and moments in history. They often refresh our memories and can serve as motivators to do something. This year marks the 100th annivers…
National Parks Traveler Podcast | Federal Lands Fire Sale [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 45:09
There are some in Congress who think we should have a fire sale on public lands. Places across national forests and the Bureau of Land Management that politicians think should be offered for sale, either to try to adopt…
National Parks Traveler Podcast | How Wild [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 36:07
Today our guest is Marissa Ortega-Welch, a San Francisco-based freelance journalist who focuses on environmental issues. Last year she generated a series of podcasts surrounding the topic of official wilderness – the his…
National Parks Traveler Podcast | Plight of the Parks [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 55:45
So much is happening so quickly to the National Park Service. There have been staff reductions, hiring freezes, spending freezes, orders from the Interior Secretary to make sure that visitors find national parks welcomin…
National Parks Traveler Podcast | Environmental Partisanship [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 48:42
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 dri…
National Parks Traveler Podcast | North American Bird Declines [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 53:54
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 individua…
National Parks Traveler Podcast | Walt Dabney and Public Lands [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 56:35
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 a…
National Parks Traveler Podcast | Congressman Jared Huffman [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 43:18
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…
National Parks Traveler Podcast | National Park Science At Risk [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 37:52
There has been much upheaval in the National Park Service this year, with firings, then rehires, and staff deciding to retire now rather than risk sticking around and being fired. There have been fears that more Park Ser…