National Parks Traveler Podcast | National Park Science At Risk

National Parks Traveler Podcast | National Park Science At Risk

Author: Kurt Repanshek April 20, 2025 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 Service personnel are about to be let go through a reduction in force. 

While Interior Secretary Doug Burgum has ordered the Park Service to ensure that parks are properly to support the operating hours and needs of each park unit," that message said nothing about protecting park resources.

 Among all this upheaval the question that goes begging is whether the Interior Department is as concerned about protecting natural resources, including wildlife, as it is about seeing that visitors have a good national park experience?

Our guest today is Dr. Michael Soukup, who during his National Park Service career served as the agency's chief scientist. When he joined the Park Service in 1975 Dr. Soukup, a distinguished coastal ecologist, biologist and researcher, brought a clear vision for natural resource stewardship that would be embraced throughout the NPS and supported by visitors and local citizens.
  
He was directly responsible for launching the Natural Resource Challenge, a $100 million funding initiative that brought the protection of natural resources of the parks to the forefront. 


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 | Climate Change Impacts on Acadia [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 41:08
From Maine to Florida, coastal units of the National Park System are being impacted in various ways by the changing climate. Some of the impacts affect wildlife, some natural resources, and some the human populations who…
National Parks Traveler Podcast | Lassen Peak's Volcanics [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 54:09
When you hear the word volcano, where in the world do you think of? Mount Vesuvious in Italy? Mount Fuji in Japan? Maybe Cotopaxi in Ecuador? Do you ever think of Lassen Peak? The National Park System is full of volcanoe…
National Parks Traveler Podcast | Save the Manatee [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 45:31
Manatees are some of the most unusual looking wildlife creatures that you'll find in coastal units of the National Park System, places like Everglades National Park, Biscayne National Park and Cumberland Island National…
National Parks Traveler Podcast | Grizzly Confidential [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 46:35
What is it about grizzly bears that intrigues us, or scares us? They are magnificent apex predators that long have been vilified by some while admired by others. Enter the National Park System and you often will find you…
National Parks Traveler Podcast | Investigating Recreation.gov [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 47:33
One of the most troublesome aspects of heading out into national parks, national forests, and other federal lands for camping, paddling, or climbing – as well as many other recreational pursuits – is the rising tide of f…
National Parks Traveler Podcast | Coastal Climate Change Impacts [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

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…
National Parks Traveler Podcast | Reporting from Cape Hatteras [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 40:43
There is never a shortage of stories to follow across the National Park System, whether you're in the West at Olympic National Park, the Northeast at Acadia National Park, or the Southwest at Grand Canyon National Park.…
National Parks Traveler Podcast | Alaska's Stained Rivers [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 49:41
In the remote wilderness of the Brooks Mountain Range in Alaska, where untamed rivers wind through vast expanses of tundra and towering mountains, a peculiar and alarming phenomenon is taking place. Since 2017 at least 7…
National Parks Traveler Podcast | State of Grand Teton National Park [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 50:31
Have you ever wanted to scratch beneath the surface of a national park and gain a better understanding of the issues the National Park Service is challenged with? Or to see what research is being conducted, or understand…