National Parks Traveler Podcast | Underwater Photography with the Submerged Resources Center

National Parks Traveler Podcast | Underwater Photography with the Submerged Resources Center

Author: Kurt Repanshek May 26, 2024 Duration: 1:10:32

Did you know that there are some five and a half million acres of our National Parks that are underwater? There are sunken ships and aircraft. There are remnants of industry and mining. There are coral reefs and underwater caverns.
The Submerged Resources Center of the National Park Service is where these water resources are explored and documented. Underwater photography is crucial in the understanding of what lies beneath the surface, and images taken by the SRC Staff are essential not only for mapping and documenting, but to help the parks address issues and solve problems. 
This week, the Traveler's Lynn Riddick sits down with Bret Seymour, the Submerged Resources Center Deputy Chief and Audio-Visual Production Specialist who has spent some thirty years with the Park Service, photographing the mysteries below the surface.


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 | The Ghost Forest [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 50:55
National parks are home to many iconic trees. Bristlecones pines, Whitebark pines, Sequoias, even mangroves. And, of course, redwoods. These trees hold many stories. The size alone of redwoods and sequoias are enough to…
National Parks Traveler Podcast | Keeping Cape Lookout Above Water [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 51:37
Rising sea levels, stronger storms, eroding shorelines, and sinking terrain are taking a toll on the fragile ecosystems and historic resources at Cape Lookout National Seashore on the Outer Banks of North Carolina. A new…
National Parks Traveler Podcast | Parks Under Pressure [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 49:44
Here we are, a week into the second administration of President Donald Trump. It's certainly a time of change, some of which is expected, and some perhaps not. Do we really need to rename North America's tallest mountain…
National Parks Traveler Podcast | Yellowstone Wolves at 30 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 43:11
There are sounds that wake you up out of a deep sleep, only to be dismissed as you fall back to sleep. And then there are sounds that rivet you, make you sit bolt upright. That was the type of sound that woke us while we…
National Parks Traveler Podcast | Threatened and Endangered Parks [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 50:17
We're five days into 2025, and already there's a lot of news concerning national parks and the National Park Service. Traveler Editor-in-Chief Kurt Repanshek is joined today by Contributing Editor Kim O'Connell to discus…
National Parks Traveler Podcast | A Walk in the Park [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:07:47
Many of us like to take a walk in our favorite national park, whether it's a short stroll down one of the boardwalks at Yellowstone National Park, the hike to the top of Old Rag at Shenandoah National Park, or up the Mis…
National Parks Traveler Podcast | The Elephant Seals of Point Reyes [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 46:05
Elephant seals are not your small, cuddly marine mammals. They are behemoths. Males, known as bulls, can reach 5,000 pounds, while females, known as cows, routinely clock in at around 1,000 pounds or so. If you're a wild…
National Parks Traveler Podcast | Into the Thaw [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 42:17
Most, if not all of us, have bucket lists. Places we want to visit…but don't always get the opportunity. This is Kurt Repanshek, your host at the National Parks Traveler. One of the destinations on my bucket list is Gate…
National Parks Traveler Podcast | Change Happens [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:00:15
Change happens…and sometimes it doesn't. Change certainly is underway in Washington, where the incoming Trump administration is putting its players in position with promises of changing, or maybe upsetting, the status qu…