In honor of National Park Week and Earthday 2025, we are supporting OUR national parks by sharing stories about what we love about the parks that we all collectively own (the most beautiful and ecologically significant wild places/habitats in the nation...and in the world, as some earned UNESCO World Heritage Site designations), to help encourage Americans to ask for political support to stop trump and musk/DOGE from defunding OUR parks and to stop firing our hard-working park rangers and staff who are our park defenders. In this 28 minute episode I talk about an Atlanta group of women I'm working with on National Park support projects via an Intown Women's Resistance group. They helped send in stories from people around the nation of people talking about parks they love and why (like Cumberland Island NP in GA, and Arches NP in Utah, and me talking about seeing bison and interviewing wolf biologist Rick McIntyre in Yellowstone's Lamar Valley).
We encourage you all to share your own park memories with friends and on social media, and to contact your federal Senators and Representatives to demand they protect park employee jobs and fully fund the national parks, and any park programs associated with climate mitigation and DEI, and protect all OUR public lands (some of which are now threatened with being sold to private owners/industries, snuck into a recent Republican budget bill). We must stay vigilant.
Here are some organizations that support parks and their employees and can keep us educated on issues and action items, recommended by friend and retired Forester from the Great Smoky Mountain National Park, Kristine Johnson:
- PEER: Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility
- The Coalition to Protect America’s National Parks
- The National Park Conservation Association
"In Tune to Nature" is a weekly radio show airing Wednesdays at 6pm Eastern Time on 89.3FM-Atlanta radio and streaming worldwide on wrfg.org (Radio Free Georgia, a nonprofit indie station) hosted by me, Carrie Freeman, or Melody Paris. The show's website and action items can be found at https://wrfg.org/intunetonature/ Please support nonprofit indie media like our Radio Free Georgia station at https://wrfg.org/ Thank you!
Take care of yourself and others, including our park employees and the wild animals who rely on our public lands.
Photo Credit: Resist Destruction Smoky Bear sticker from the Alt National Parks group. Check them out on FB.
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed on In Tune to Nature do not necessarily reflect those of WRFG, its board, staff or volunteers.
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