If you take the time to stop in West Virginia's New River Gorge, our newest national park, and listen, you may hear, intertwined with the sound of birdsong, flowing water, and the wind billowing through the trees, the whistle of a train. Today on Parkography, the legend born from the Gorge that would echo through generations to come. A man named John Henry.

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This week in national parks and public lands news, Yosemite is already dealing with major traffic headaches after dropping its reservation system, Arches could be moving toward a shuttle future, and Grand Teton visitors should prepare for a summer full of construction delays. We’ll also talk about a new proposal to stop staffing cuts at public lands agencies, a major land donation at the Smokies, expanded hunting and fishing access at park sites, and a brand-new experience opening underneath the Lincoln Memorial.

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00:00 Headlines Preview
00:40 Yosemite Traffic Chaos
02:57 Arches Shuttle?
04:40 Grand Canyon North Rim Reopens
06:05 Grand Teton Construction Season
07:06 Hunting and Fishing Expansion
08:53 Bill to Stop Staffing Cuts
09:57 Smokies Land Donation
10:37 Lincoln Memorial Undercroft
11:44 Wrap Up and Mailing List

Back-to-back bear attacks in Yellowstone and Glacier, Grand Canyon officials recovered the body of missing 26-year-old, Great Smoky Mountains National Park is investigating 33 federally protected black vultures dumped along Foothills Parkway, Denali introduced this year's sled dog puppies on its puppy cam, state updates include Louisiana’s bill to relocate removed monuments to state parks and Maryland’s possible expansion of park entry reservations and online payments, and more.

00:00 Yellowstone and Glacier Bears
01:23 Grand Canyon Missing Hiker
02:12 Smokies Vulture Dumping
03:01 Alcatraz Coyote Mystery
05:08 Denali Sled Dog Puppies
06:57 Louisiana Monument Proposal
08:04 Maryland Park Reservations
10:02 Crater of Diamonds Find
11:05 Wrap Up

The Trump administration withdraws its National Park Service director nominee, leaving the agency under acting leadership, while a proposed 2027 budget would cut NPS operations by about $736 million (over 25%) alongside a new $10 billion DC construction/beautification program. The Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool is turning “American Flag Blue,” and non-resident park fee revenue rose by about $2 million year over year, far below projections. Two recent fatal accidents at Zion National Park, Grand Teton’s robotic sage grouse decoys, a whistleblower complaint alleging widespread lead paint risks in Yellowstone employee housing, and more.

00:00 This Week
00:40 NPS Nominee Withdrawn
01:47 Proposed Budget Cuts
02:33 Lincoln Memorial Pool Turns Blue
03:55 Non-Resident Fee Revenue 
04:51 Zion Trail Fatalities
05:35 Robotic Birds for Sage Grouse
07:25 Yellowstone Housing Lead Risks
08:21 Boundary Waters Mining Fight
09:54 California State Park Expansion
10:54 Wrap Up

Hidden beneath hundreds of inches of snow each winter, there’s a historic lodge sitting high on the slopes of Mount Rainier National Park that almost didn’t survive.

In this episode of Parkography, we’re exploring the incredible story of the Paradise Inn—a lodge built in 1917 that helped shape what America’s national parks would become. From its origins as a luxury resort in the wilderness to its near-demolition in the mid-20th century, Paradise Inn stands as a symbol of how our relationship with national parks has evolved over time.

Written by Lizzie Tesch

#MountRainier #NationalParks #USHistory

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In this episode: the BLM’s plan to ban dispersed camping on nearly 14,000 acres near Zion National Park—shifting use to designated areas and two proposed campgrounds, a resolution that could overturn a 20-year ban on copper-nickel mining near Minnesota’s Boundary Waters watershed,  a Texas man sentenced to five days in jail for stepping off boardwalks onto Yellowstone’s thermal features, a settlement to keep the pride flag flying at Stonewall National Monument, tightened South Rim water restrictions at Grand Canyon due to pipeline breaks, Big Bend’s Chisos Basin closure being put on hold, and Yosemite’s historic Ahwahnee dining room moving to a required prix-fixe menu starting at $95.

00:00 Public Lands News Roundup
00:29 Zion Dispersed Camping Ban
02:37 Boundary Waters Mining Fight
04:29 Yellowstone Boardwalk Jail
05:34 Stonewall Pride Flag Returns
07:08 Grand Canyon Water Restrictions
08:14 Big Bend Closure Delayed
09:04 Yosemite Dining Goes Prix Fixe
10:52 Wrap Up and Subscribe

This week in national park and public lands news: A major US Forest Service overhaul, including relocating its headquarters from Washington, DC to Salt Lake City by 2027; a bill to redesignate Chiricahua National Monument as a national park passed the House and heads to the Senate; National Park Week in 2026 will move to August; a lawsuit challenges firearm bans inside NPS buildings; Grand Canyon’s South Rim enters Stage 3 water restrictions after a Trans-Canyon Waterline break, and more.

00:00 Intro
00:38 Forest Service Overhaul
02:32 New Arizona Park Push
03:39 Mammoth Cave Expansion
04:05 National Park Week Moves
05:14 Firearms Rules Lawsuit
06:29 Grand Canyon Water Crisis
08:23 Idaho Wildlife Charges
09:22 Millions of Bees Spill
10:35 Wrap Up and Goodbye

Before he was president… before he was a Rough Rider… Theodore Roosevelt was a sickly kid struggling to breathe.

Then he came to the Badlands.

In this episode of Parkography, we explore how the rugged landscapes of Theodore Roosevelt National Park transformed Roosevelt’s life—and ultimately helped shape the future of conservation in America.

From cattle ranching along the Little Missouri River to devastating personal loss, this is the story of how one wild place forged one of the most influential presidents in U.S. history.

This week in national park news: The National Park Service reports 323 million recreation visits in 2025 (down 2.7% from 2024), Mount Rushmore will host fireworks for the U.S. 250th anniversary amid ongoing regional wildfire concerns. A new CBP map no longer shows a primary border wall through Big Bend, instead labeling the area as detection technology, while Big Bend’s Chisos Basin will close starting May 1 for up to two years for lodge replacement and water infrastructure work. Lawmakers introduce the Save Our Sequoias Act to fund reforestation, monitoring, and forest management after major tree losses, and Indiana will add all-terrain track chairs to every state park at no cost.

00:00 Big Changes Ahead
00:34 2025 Park Visitation Report
02:19 Mount Rushmore Fireworks Return
04:08 Big Bend Border Wall Update
05:41 Chisos Basin Two-Year Closure
07:03 Save Our Sequoias Act
08:47 Indiana Parks Accessibility Upgrade
09:46 Wrap Up And Thanks

Mount Rushmore is one of the most famous monuments in the United States. Nearly everyone can recognize the towering faces of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln carved into the granite of the Black Hills of South Dakota.

But the real story behind Mount Rushmore is far more complicated—and far more fascinating—than most people realize.

In this episode of Parkography, we explore the surprising history behind America’s most recognizable monument. From the unlikely idea of South Dakota historian Doane Robinson, to the larger-than-life and controversial sculptor Gutzon Borglum, to the hundreds of workers who risked their lives carving the mountain with dynamite and hand tools during the Great Depression.

This week in national park news:

Mount Rainier National Park has officially dropped its timed entry reservation system for 2026 — joining Yosemite, Arches, and Glacier in abandoning the pandemic-era crowd management experiment.

Meanwhile, one of Yellowstone’s most unusual geothermal features — Echinus Geyser — has suddenly begun erupting again after years of dormancy.

We also cover:

• A fatal incident near the Kīlauea caldera in Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park
• A controversial proposal to build new border barriers through Big Bend National Park
• One of the best wildflower blooms in Death Valley since 2016
• A strange act of vandalism at Big Sur’s famous Calla Lily Valley
• Possible campground closures in Washington state parks
• And the opening of a brand-new Texas state park for the first time in 24 years

00:00 Intro
00:46 Mount Rainier Drops Timed Entry
02:01 Hawaii Volcano Fatal Incident
02:57 Yellowstone Geyser Returns
04:47 Big Bend Border Wall Proposal
06:58 Death Valley Wildflower Bloom
08:14 Big Sur Flower Vandalism
09:46 Washington Campground Cuts
10:58 Texas Opens New State Park
12:05 Wrap Up