National Parks Traveler Podcast | Saving Whitebark Pines

National Parks Traveler Podcast | Saving Whitebark Pines

Author: Kurt Repanshek January 31, 2026 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, beetles, and a fatal fungus from Eurasia.

Our guest today is Dr. Elizabeth Pansing, the director of forest and restoration science for American Forests, a nonprofit organization that strives to create healthy and resilient forests.

This program was made possible in part by the Park Foundation.


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 | Park Friends Under Pressure [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:00:40
The government shutdown has been record-setting in terms of its length. So, too, has been the time that many employees of the National Park Service have been furloughed without pay. How has the shutdown affected the park…
National Parks Traveler Podcast | November NewsMatch Fundraiser [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 42:24
What is a "typical" day at the National Parks Traveler like? When you surf over to the website there's always content there, ready to update you on news from around the National Park System. How is it generated, and who…
National Parks Traveler Podcast | The Battle of Saratoga [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 53:27
Though the Revolutionary War didn't officially end until September 1783 with the signing of the Treaty of Paris, a key turning point in the war for independence occurred six years earlier in a small corner of today's New…
National Parks Traveler Podcast | Government Shutdown Blues [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 48:09
The federal government is shut down, but the national parks – most of them, anyway – are open. Back during his first term in office President Donald Trump also kept the parks open during the government shutdown that stre…
National Parks Traveler Podcast | Kansas Road Trip [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 33:46
Kansas is a big place, and not one particularly well-known for national park destinations. But that doesn't mean you should overlook the Sunflower State. In the closing days of September, as the country seemed destined f…
National Parks Traveler Podcast | Rebuilding the Appalachian Trail [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 46:23
Nearly 700 volunteers, including some from as far away as Japan, descended on the Appalachian Trail in the past year in an unprecedented effort to recover a landscape forever scarred by Hurricane Helene. The storm in Sep…
National Parks Traveler Podcast | Disappearing Black History [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 45:28
This past week unspecified interpretive materials related to slavery were either removed or tagged for removal from Harpers Ferry National Historical Park in West Virginia. It also was reported that a troubling photo kno…
National Parks Traveler Podcast | Historic Preservation [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 48:14
We can't escape history. We're born into a world full of it, and we're making it as we go from day to day. But how are we at preserving history? There's been a lot of concern this year that the administration of Presiden…
National Parks Traveler Podcast | Government Shutdown Blues [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 44:37
We've made it past Labor Day. Which means fall colors in some parts of the country aren't too far off, seasonal wildlife migrations are getting under way, and summertime crowds in the national park system have thinned ou…