America’s National Parks Podcast

In this month's national park news, new-to-science fossils have been uncovered at Mammoth Cave and John Day Fossil Beds, a rabies scare is taking hold at Saguaro National Park, a man gets convicted for diverting the Platte River at Sleeping Bear Dunes, and more.

Hosted by Jason Epperson

Visit LLBean.com to find great gear for exploring the national parks.

Use promo code PARKS20OFF to get $20 off your next purchase of $200 or more at solostove.com.

Set against the backdrop of Miami’s skyline, six structures rise from the turquoise waters of Biscayne Bay. Rugged and isolated, these houses on stilts are an unexpected site in the midst of a national park water world that was designated to preserve the coral reefs, seagrasses, mangrove forests, and other natural features. Cormorants and herons perch on the houses' roofs, railings, and pylons. Dolphins and manatees swim between them.

Together, these six structures are all that remain of Stiltsville's whimsical history, although none are among the original twenty-seven that formed this curiosity in the midst of a national park that is ninety-five percent water.

How did such a village come to exist and what does the future hold for these few relics that remain?

By Lauren Eisenberg Davis

Hosted by Jason Epperson

Visit LLBean.com to find great gear for exploring the national parks.

Use promo code PARKS20OFF to get $20 off your next purchase of $200 or more at solostove.com.

Salem Maritime is not just any National Historic Site; it’s the first place the National Park Service was tasked with preserving that wasn’t about nature, scenery, or wildlife. Over 160 years after the signing of the Declaration of Independence, It was time to preserve our history.

Hosted by Jason Epperson

Visit LLBean.com to find great gear for exploring the national parks.

Use promo code PARKS20 to get $20 off your next purchase of $200 or more at solostove.com.

In this month's news round-up, we take a look at some concerns about the ranks of National Park Service employees: morale is lower than that of other federal employees, and Park Service criminal investigators are down by nearly half. Plus, actor Pierce Brosnan has been busted for going off-trail in a thermal area of Yellowstone, a Mexican Wolf has been spotted in Valles Caldera after nearly 100 years away, and more.

Visit LLBean.com to find great gear for exploring the national parks.

Use promo code PARKS20 to get $20 off your next purchase of $200 or more at solostove.com.

Gold Mining drew the world's eye to the wonders of Alaska. Some of our most treasured landscapes were explored in the first place in the effort to strike it rich. But what are the ramifications of gold mining in our national parks? Even in places where it ended a century ago? In this episode, we explore the effects of gold mining in the Kantishna hills of Denali National Park.

Find the Alaska Park Science Journal here: https://www.nps.gov/subjects/alaskaparkscience/index.htm

Hosted by Jason Epperson

Visit LLBean.com to find great gear for exploring the national parks.

Use promo code PARKS20 to get $20 off your next purchase of $200 or more at solostove.com.

George Rogers Clark, the twenty-six-year-old commander of the Kentucky Militia, petitioned Virginia governor Patrick Henry to be allowed to take 500 American troops into Kentucky (already annexed to Virginia) to conquer the Northwest for Virginia, and increase the footprint of the state and its aspiring country. He proposed to claim the key towns and forts for America, on a march to ultimately conquer Fort Detroit. Patrick Henry agreed.

The 500 troops never materialized. Instead, Clark found a mere 130 or so men at his disposal. Young, persistent, bold, and innovative, he was undeterred, never considering the possibility of abandoning his plan, despite floods, starvation, and the constant threat of his scant troops slipping off in the night to scramble for home. Clark and his men accomplished one of the greatest underdog victories by means of deception.

Written by Lauren Eisenberg Davis

Hosted by Jason Epperson

Visit LLBean.com to find great gear for exploring the national parks.

Use promo code PARKS20 to get $20 off your next purchase of $200 or more at solostove.com.

"George Rogers Clark and the Winning of the Old Northwest" can be found here: https://amzn.to/3RZGXGj

In this episode, we share all the ins and outs of Yosemite's new returning reservation system; we share the news about three new National Park Service sites; two motorcyclists took a closed road in Death Valley and had to be rescued by the US Navy, and more.

Hosted by Jason Epperson

Visit LLBean.com to find great gear for exploring the national parks.

Use promo code PARKS20 to get $20 off your next purchase of $200 or more at solostove.com.

The defacement at National Park sites goes beyond graffiti, and each layer peeled back raises more questions about what destruction is vs. what a historical artifact is. Somewhere in between the ancient rock markings from the Native Americans and the brash, purposeful defacement by current-day visitors, lies an entire spectrum that comprises a a very grey area for interpretation.

Written by Lauren Eisenberg Davis

Hosted by Jason Epperson

Visit LLBean.com to find great gear for exploring the national parks.

Use promo code PARKS20 to get $20 off your next purchase of $200 or more at solostove.com.

For this holiday season, we thought it’d be great to revisit short stories we told way back in 2018 about magical Christmases in America’s first national park. Hear the splendor of the holidays in early years at Yellowstone, and discover how three 6-year-olds saved Christmas from an impending disaster.

Hosted by Jason Epperson

Visit LLBean.com to find great gear for exploring the national parks.

Use promo code PARKS20 to get $20 off your next purchase of $200 or more at solostove.com.

At the 125th anniversary of the Battle at Gettysburg, Nearing the end of the Cold War, famous scientist Dr. Carl Sagan would re-dedicate the Eternal Light Peace Memorial. The speech, co-written with his wife Ann Druyan, juxtaposed the weapons of the Battle of Gettysburg with the weapons of subsequent wars, highlighting the increased potential for destruction with each war. Sagan used the platform he was given to call for nuclear disarmament, underscoring the need to recognize our humanity as brothers and to work toward peace.

Hosted by Jason Epperson

Visit LLBean.com to find great gear for exploring the national parks.

Use promo code PARKS20 to get $20 off your next purchase of $200 or more at solostove.com.