This episode of America's National Parks Podcast delves into the fascinating world of the Northern Elephant Seal, including its near-extinction in the 1800s due to overhunting and the subsequent discovery of remnant populations in Mexico. Protective legislation was eventually put in place, allowing the species to rebound and return to the California coastline to breed.

Written by Dr. Charlotte Hacker Edited by Peter Xiong Hosted By Jason Epperson

Sponsored by LL Bean | www.llbean.com

and by Campendium | www.campendium.com

In the grassy High Plains of Northwest Nebraska, the landscape is punctuated by flat top buttes, and a few isolated landforms reminiscent of the badlands. A layer of sandstone builds the foundation of the area, sitting over a remarkable bonebed.

The grasslands provided good grazing, and James Cook acquired his ranch here, where the wetlands meet the prairie. Unbeknownst to him when he purchased the land, as his cattle grazed on the nodding heads of grain, beneath their feet lay a remarkable history of animals that came before them, the mammals of the Miocene Epoch. 

Dinosaur fossils tickle everyone’s imagination – but other, more recent (albeit still ancient) paleontology discoveries give rise to a continuum of long extinct animals indigenous to a region. As much as we tend to think of museums as focusing on dinosaurs, with examples such as the Tyrannosaurus Rex skeleton named Sue, which is housed at the Field Museum in Chicago, museums also have extensive displays on the history of the rise of mammals.

Agate Fossil Beds tells the story of a treasure trove of mammal fossils in America’s Midwest.

Written By Lauren Eisenberg Davis Audio Editor and Theme Music: Peter Xiong Host: Jason Epperson

Sponsored by LLBean www.llbean.com/guide and Campendium www.campendium.com

On today’s episode of America’s National Parks, the comeback story of North American elk.

Written By Dr. Charlotte Hacker Audio Editor and Theme Music: Peter Xiong Host: Jason Epperson

Sponsored by LLBean www.llbean.com/guide and Campendium www.campendium.com

In this month's news roundup, the National Park Service has set its budget priorities for the year, including repairs from last year's extreme weather events and prevention measures to help keep them from happening again. Plus, a daring helicopter rescue at Zion, and more. 

Sponsored by LLBean www.llbean.com/guide and Campendium www.campendium.com

In the stillness of winter, the waves still roll in and out, in and out, slicking the sandy shore of Assateague Island, a narrow thirty seven mile long barrier island which spans both Maryland and Virginia between the Atlantic Ocean and the Sinepuxent Bay. The wind can be sharp this time of year, rustling the sand into small ever changing dunes, and the temperature is nippy. In the cold of the Mid-Atlantic winter, no swimmers sluice through the water, no sunbathers lie on blankets or towels strewn across the shore. The beach stretches as far as the eye can see, an inviting expanse of sand and ocean treasures brought in on the tide.

The famous horses roam the island even in winter, grazing in the tall marsh grasses on the bay side of the island, trotting along the beach, nosing around the trash receptacles in the picnic areas and campgrounds. They are ever present on the island, and the reason that many people visit Assateague, combining a beach camping trip with the novelty of wild horses all around. Drawn by the annual Pony Penning, also known as the Chesapeake Pony Swim, or nostalgia for Marguerite Henry’s beloved book Misty of Chincoteague, throngs of people descend on Assateague Island in the spring and summer. But in the winter, without the crowds and their noise, without the smell of picnics, without all the distractions that high season brings, Assateague offers up a different kind of experience, full of quiet discovery.

By Lauren Eisenberg Davis Script Editor: Kelsey Skonberg Audio Editor and Theme Music: Peter Xiong Host: Jason Epperson

Sponsored by LLBean www.llbean.com/guide and Campendium www.campendium.com

Bats have survived shifting continents, mass extinction events, rapid anthropogenic expansion, and supervolcanic explosions. But can an important North American subset of bats survive the latest threat to their existence?

By Dr. Charlotte Hacker Script Editor: Kelsey Skonberg Audio Editor and Theme Music: Peter Xiong Host: Jason Epperson

Sponsored by LLBean www.llbean.com/guide and Campendium www.campendium.com

In this month's national park news, we share some changes to timed-entry reservation programs at Glacier, Yosemite, Arches, Zion, and Rocky Mountain National Parks. Plus, there's some new funding for parks, and what destinations might become national parks in 2023.

Since 1916, the National Park Service has worked to preserve our country’s natural and cultural resources for current and future generations. U.S. National Parks inspire more than 318 million visitors per year, and these unimpaired landscapes provide safe refuge to more than 600 at-risk species.

Unfortunately, they also provide safe refuge to some highly unwelcome wildlife.

By Dr. Charlotte Hacker Script Editor: Kelsey Skonberg Audio Editor and Theme Music: Peter Xiong Host: Jason Epperson

Sponsored by LLBean www.llbean.com/guide and Campendium www.campendium.com

While the creation of the Shenandoah National Park was the successful result of persistent collaboration between business owners, local park advocates, the state of Virginia, the federal government, and the young National Park Service, it also resulted in the forced displacement of thousands of individuals residing within the new park bounds.

By Sophie Poux Script Editor: Kelsey Skonberg Audio Editor and Theme Music: Peter Xiong Host: Jason Epperson

Sponsored by LLBean www.llbean.com/guide and Campendium www.campendium.com

Sweeping wildflower fields, brilliant fall foliage, cascading waterfalls, black bears, and songbirds. Mountain hollows. A meandering scenic drive stretching over 100 miles across the crest of the Blue Ridge Mountains. 

Shenandoah National Park in Central Virginia has attracted visitors since the 1930s when the park first opened to the public. While the creation of the park was the successful result of persistent collaboration between business owners, local park advocates, the state of Virginia, the federal government, and the young National Park Service, it also resulted in the forced displacement of thousands of individuals residing within the new park bounds.

By Sophie Poux Script Editor: Kelsey Skonberg Audio Editor and Theme Music: Peter Xiong Host: Jason Epperson

Sponsored by LLBean www.llbean.com/guide and Campendium www.campendium.com