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Stand in the middle of Bears Ears at night and you can see a single streetlight 20 miles away. That’s how dark Southern Utah is: so dark that the Milky Way looks like a strange streak of cloud, and there are so many stars you can’t pick out the Big Dipper.

In this Our Story episode, host Missy Rentz sits down with Michael Rymer, Communities Program Manager at DarkSky International, to talk about why this corner of the country has some of the darkest skies on Earth, what that darkness means to the tribal nations who have always lived beneath it, and what happens when development brings light to places that have never had it.

In this episode:

• Protected Land, Dark Sky: Why the wildest places in Utah also have the darkest skies, and why Utah now leads the world in certified dark sky places.
• Not Just the Stars: What light at night does to pollinators, migrating birds and the nocturnal animals that hunt and navigate by darkness.
• The Sky as Family: How the night sky told the tribal nations of the region when to plant and when to harvest, and why losing it is like losing a relative.
• One Streetlight, Twenty Miles: What mining and development at Bears Ears and Grand Staircase would mean for the night sky.
• All You Need: Two working eyes, a functional brain and a big heart, plus 20 to 30 minutes for your eyes to adjust.
• Turn Your Screen Red: How to use a stargazing app without ruining your night vision.
• The Parking Lot Trick: Why you don’t have to hike in the dark to see the sky at Natural Bridges, the world’s first dark sky park.
• Timing the Moon: Why the new moon matters, and the winter Milky Way that shows up in the early morning.
• Find Your Dark Sky: Certified places, dark sky festivals in Bluff, and ranger programs.

Michaels picks: Links that Michael recommends when planning your trip

• https://stellarium-web.org/https://www.timeanddate.com/https://www.astrospheric.com/?Latitude=40.606143&Longitude=-90.332346&Loc=Forecast
https://clearoutside.com/forecast/
https://bluffutah.org/star-gazing/

Learn more and find a dark sky place near you at darksky.org.

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On Memorial Day weekend, two wild mares gave birth right behind the campsites at Assateague State Park. Word spread through the campground, hundreds of people gathered, and a crowd that had been loud all day went completely quiet.

That’s Assateague: a barrier island where the horses go wherever they please, including your campsite and the middle of the road. Host Missy Rentz sits down with Meghan Rhode, Assistant Park Manager at Assateague State Park, a few weeks after camping there herself, to talk about the horses, the island, and how to plan a visit to Maryland’s only oceanfront state park.

In this episode:

• One Island, Three Agencies: How the state park, Assateague Island National Seashore and Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge share 37 miles of barrier island.
• Shipwreck or Tax Break: The two stories of how the wild horses got there, and which one has more history behind it.
• Born in the Campground: How the herd is managed, and the day a campground full of strangers watched a foal arrive.
• Not Chincoteague Ponies: Why Maryland’s herd is separate from the famous pony swim, and the fence that keeps them apart.
• The Soap Opera: Stallions, bands and territory fights, sometimes two campsites over from yours.
• Sharing the Island: Slow speeds, safe distances, and the horse-resistant food boxes under every picnic table.
• Why They’re Ponies: How a harsh island turned horses into shorter, sturdier animals over generations.
• Pack for the Wind: Extra-long tent stakes, your own shade, and why a west wind means bugs.
• Day Trips and Booking: The beach, the 5 Tides restaurant, and why summer weekends book up a year ahead.
• Bringing Your Dog: When pets are allowed, which loops are pet friendly, and the bur grass nobody warns you about.
• Nature’s Palette: Sunset over the marsh from the causeway, and why you should stop at the visitor center first.

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In 1900, birds were something you shot and pinned to a hat. Then an ornithologist named Frank Chapman suggested people go out on Christmas and count them instead. Today, a family will drive four and a half hours across the desert, three kids in the back seat and every one of them holding binoculars, just to spend a weekend looking up.

Recorded live at the Maryland Outdoor Recreation Summit in Ocean City, Maryland, host Missy Rentz sits down with Wayne Klockner, Executive Director of the American Birding Association, in front of a room full of the people whose job is getting the rest of us outside. A week earlier, Wayne had taken Missy on her very first birding trip at Assateague, where she spent two hours learning what to look at (and mistaking pine cones for birds).

In this episode:

• From Hat Feathers to the Christmas Bird Count: How birding started as a way to stop the killing.
• A Million Ways to Bird: Why watching the feeder in your backyard counts just as much as chasing a rarity across the country.
• “That’s Not Your Fault, That’s the Leader’s Fault”: Why beginners feel intimidated on bird walks, and whose job it is to fix that.
• Missy’s First Morning at Assateague: How birding turned out to be less about competition and more about learning to be present.
• Not Just Retirees in Vests: Why young people are trading screen time for binoculars, plus the ABA’s sold-out young birder camps and city Community Weekends.
• What Birds Do for Us: From birdsong at lunch to the canary in the coal mine, why birds matter beyond their beauty.
• For Parks, Tourism and Retailers: Interpretive signs, scheduled bird walks, and the clothing companies already designing gear for birders.
• How to Start: Find other birders, get a basic pair of binoculars (8x40 or 7x35), download the free Merlin app, and pick up a field guide.
• Birding All Year: Why fall migration, which runs into early December, is a great time to begin.
• No Yard Required: How Christian Cooper turned a Manhattan balcony into a stop for birds with native plants.

Recommended reading: The Sibley Guide to Birds by David Allen Sibley · Better Living Through Birding by Christian Cooper

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Water is the most boring thing in your pack — right up until it's the biggest problem of your day.

Alison Hill runs LifeStraw, but her background isn't gear. It's infectious disease. She came to the company to tackle waterborne illness, not to start a retail brand.

In this episode: — Why most Americans assume they have safe water, and why that's a misconception — aging infrastructure, lead contamination, boil advisories, unmonitored wells — Responding to Hurricane Helene in the town she grew up in — How much water to actually carry, and why there's no magic number — What dehydration does to your decision-making, which is the part nobody warns you about — How to choose a filter without standing paralyzed in the aisle: start with the use case, not the product — And why you can trust it: a partnership with The Carter Center that has taken Guinea worm disease from about 3.5 million cases a year to ten worldwide

Plus the speed round: Gates of the Arctic, chili pork rinds, lemurs in Madagascar, and the greatest gift the parks give us, in one word.

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This is the last episode of the Save Public Lands series — and we are four days from National Public Lands Day.

Tania Lown Hecht — VP of Communications and Strategy for Outdoor Alliance — joins me to close out the campaign. As we recorded this, 60 people from the Outdoor Alliance coalition were on Capitol Hill meeting with lawmakers on behalf of the outdoor community.

In this episode: — What Outdoor Alliance is: a coalition of 10 national outdoor recreation groups representing climbers, paddlers, surfers, backcountry skiers, mountain bikers, and trail runners — What 60 advocates told lawmakers this week — including the Roadless Rule comment stats (98-99% of public comments in support of keeping it) — Why Save Public Lands was born out of last summer's sell-off fight — and what happened when offices said they'd "never gotten this many messages about any issue ever" — Why the human-powered outdoor community has more in common with hunters and motorized users than with the timber or mining industry — How connection to place is the foundation of the conservation movement — Tania's personal story: cancer as a teenager, a first question about the mountains, and why she's dedicated her life to public lands

The petition closes September 26th — National Public Lands Day. savepubliclands.us. Four fields. Thirty seconds.

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You don't have to be a big company to show up for public lands.

Joy Seward — co-founder of RecPak and NOLS expedition guide — joins me for episode four of the Save Public Lands series to talk about how small businesses can get involved in advocacy, why The Conservation Alliance makes it easy, and what it looks like when a brand builds its mission into the business from day one.

RecPak was literally born on public land. Joy and her co-founder met on a NOLS course — operating on public land — and launched their company together afterward. Before their first sale, they already knew they wanted to give back.

In this episode: — What RecPak is: an ultra-lightweight 700-calorie, 42g protein meal for endurance athletes and backpackers — How RecPak was born out of a NOLS course on public land — Why Joy joined The Conservation Alliance before RecPak's first sale — The myth that advocacy is only for big companies — and why Conservation Alliance makes it low barrier for any size brand — What small businesses can actually do: social posts, tabling, directing customers to comment periods — Over a year of Joy's life spent cumulatively in wilderness areas as an expedition guide — What public lands mean to Joy personally — How to sign the Save Public Lands petition in under 30 seconds

Campaign runs through National Public Lands Day, September 26th.

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It can feel like every week there's a new emergency, a new deadline, a new thing to fight. That's not an accident.

Rebecca Gillis — VP of Government Affairs and Advocacy at The Conservation Alliance — joins me to decode what's actually happening to our public lands and why it feels so chaotic.

In this episode: — Executive orders: how they drive everything that happens at the agency level — Deregulation vs. what we're actually seeing — and why it goes one step further — The Congressional Review Act: an old tool being used in ways we've never seen, including Boundary Waters and Grand Staircase-Escalante — Budget reconciliation: the simple majority vehicle that's scarier than it sounds — Flood the zone: why the chaos is a strategy, and what that means for advocates — Why shortened comment periods, circumvented processes, and staffing cuts are all connected — Big Bend, Chaco Canyon, Bears Ears, Grand Staircase, Alaska, and Yosemite — quick updates on everything in play — The power of the outdoor industry: economic, reputational, and people power — 77 open comment periods — and how to navigate them without burning out — The doctor's prescription: keep going outside

Take action: ONX and Protect Our Parks both track open comment periods. The Conservation Alliance has form letters ready. Five Calls makes calling your representatives easy. And save the date — National Public Lands Day is September 26th.

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Public lands don't belong to one party. They belong to all of us.

Cal Callaghan — President and CEO of Backcountry Hunters and Anglers — joins me for episode three of our Save Public Lands series to talk about why this campaign matters, why a million signatures is a low bar, and what it means when people who don't look the same, act the same, or vote the same all show up for the same thing.

In this episode: — What Backcountry Hunters and Anglers does: 44 chapters, 35,000 members, year-round stewardship across North America — Why conservation is a "guilty pleasure" — and why that's fine — Reject the politics. Focus on the policy. It will affect you no matter where you are on the spectrum. — The Kevlar vest: how every user group — hunters, hikers, skiers, stargazers — is a woven fiber protecting the same special places — Why a million signatures is a low bar: there are more than a million people who buy a duck stamp alone — What public lands mean to Cal personally — from wilderness backpack hunts to throwing sticks with the dogs — And the simplest ask: go to savepubliclands.us. Name, zip code, email. Done.

Campaign runs through National Public Lands Day, September 26th.

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We launched Save Public Lands last week. Now it's time to talk about why this campaign is different.

Paul Hendricks — Executive Director of The Conservation Alliance — joins me to make the case for going on offense. After a year and a half of playing defense on public lands, the outdoor community is shifting its posture. One unified message. One million signatures. National Public Lands Day, September 26th.

In this episode: — Why "you can't just play defense forever" — the sports analogy that explains the whole campaign — The $1.3 trillion outdoor economy — and why it's probably way bigger than that number suggests — Who counts as a nature-dependent business (hint: it's a lot more than gear companies) — Why the attacks on public lands aren't landscape-specific — they're hitting forests from Alaska to North Carolina — Conservation easement law changes: the public lands fight happening on private land too — How to avoid advocacy fatigue: why Save Public Lands is designed to be the meta-campaign — What public lands mean to Paul personally — three generations on a backpacking trip

Sign the petition: savepubliclands.us — four fields, thirty seconds.

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The Roadless Rule is back — and we are in the middle of a 30-day public comment period that closes September 21st.

Katie Johnson — Campaigns and Engagement Manager for The Conservation Alliance — returns to the podcast to break down what's happening and exactly what you can do about it.

This is not a West Coast issue. The Roadless Rule protects 60 million acres of national forests in 37 states — and if the full repeal moves forward, 45 of those million acres could be opened to road construction, logging, mining, and industrial development.

In this episode: — The Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) and its three alternatives — including why the "modified" Alternative 3 still takes away 38 million acres — Why opponents call the rule inflexible — and why the rebuttals matter — The existing road maintenance backlog problem: there's no funding to maintain what we already have — Roads as wildlife barriers: migration corridors, breeding, fragmentation — Who gets impacted: gateway communities, tribal nations, thru-hikers, Triple Crowners, breweries, and everyone who drinks water — The Appalachian Trail, Continental Divide Trail, and Pacific Crest Trail: all have sections in inventoried roadless areas — 25,000 miles of trail at risk. 750 miles of whitewater access potentially affected. — How to submit a public comment in two minutes — and why aiming for a million matters

The Conservation Alliance has a pre-filled comment form ready. Link in show notes and bio. Deadline: September 21st.

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It's time to go on offense.

Today I'm joined by Fitz Cahall — host of the Dirtbag Diaries podcast — to launch Save Public Lands, a coalition-backed initiative to gather one million signatures and deliver them to Congress and state houses on National Public Lands Day, September 26th, 2026.

Three demands: No sell-offs. No backroom deals. No giveaways to foreign mining companies.

Sign it now at savepubliclands.us — it's four fields: first name, last name, zip code, email. Done. Then share it with five friends.

In this episode: — Why the outdoor community is going on offense after two years of playing defense — The three demands behind the Save Public Lands initiative — How signatures get used: the plan to physically deliver them to DC and state houses — The Boundary Waters — how community pressure stopped a toxic mine (multiple times) — Why this moment matters: a new Congress, a new election, a new chance to be heard — What public lands mean personally to Fitz — from climbing in Yosemite to building Dirtbag Diaries

Take action: → Sign the petition: savepubliclands.us → Share this episode → Tell five friends

Five weeks. One million signatures. National Public Lands Day, September 26th.

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Bulldozers just showed up inside Big Bend National Park.

28 environmental regulations waived. A $1.7 billion contract awarded to a subsidiary created specifically to protect its parent company's brand. Bipartisan local opposition from Republican sheriffs, judges, and the Republican congressional nominee for the district. And 1.3% — that's the share of overall US border crossings that happen in the Big Bend sector.

Chris Keyes, executive director and founder of RE:PUBLIC — a publication dedicated to covering America's public lands — joins The Parks Podcast to break down exactly what's happening on the ground and what you can do about it.

In this episode: — How it started: Kristi Noem's February announcement waiving 28 environmental regulations — The $1.7 billion Kiewit contract and the subsidiary created to protect their brand — Why the Big Bend sector isn't a high-priority immigration area (migration down 75% since 2023) — The Endangered Species Act, Clean Water Act, and NEPA — all waived — Big Bend's dark skies designation and what surveillance road lighting would mean for it — Why local Republicans and Democrats are both opposed — and what a federal judge just ruled — What you can do: organizations to support, how to contact your representatives, why local pressure matters most — What's coming next: the Ambler Road in Alaska — 200 miles, 4,000 stream crossings, a foreign-owned mine

Take action:

• Follow RE:PUBLIC at republic.land and sign up for their newsletter (twice a week)
• Support the Center for Biological Diversity and other organizations fighting this in court
• Call and write your senator, representative, and — if you're in Texas — your state officials
• Share this episode

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He grew up in a house with no bathroom in the middle of nowhere, Georgia. His closest caretakers were Black neighbors in a community the segregated South shut out. After being President of the United States, he came back and lived in the same small ranch house he and Rosalynn built in 1961. When he died, he was buried in his front yard.

Jimmy Carter National Historical Park in Plains, Georgia tells 100 years of history — from birth to death — of two people who never stopped asking what more they could do. Jennifer Hopkins, Lead Education Ranger at the park, joins The Parks Podcast to share what you'll find there and why it's worth a full day (at minimum).

In this episode: — The boyhood farm set to 1937 — a working farm where President Carter's own voice tells his stories when you push the button — Jack and Rachel Clark — the Black neighbors who helped raise young Jimmy, whose house has the longest audio in the park — Earl Carter — far more than a peanut farmer. The businessman behind a commissary, an electrical corporation, and a New Deal farm program — Rosalynn's story — why she didn't want to come back to Plains, and how she became one of the most effective First Ladies in history — The Peanut Brigade — how Plains residents spent their own money canvassing the nation in 1976, one of the first grassroots campaigns in American presidential history — The campaign headquarters — a one-bathroom building that won a presidential election — Plains High School — now an immersive museum where you can sit at the Resolute desk and design your own campaign button — The Carter Gardens — open to the public, and where both President and Mrs. Carter are buried — When to go, what to bring, how to plan (September Peanut Festival, anyone?)

Recommended reading: An Hour Before Daylight by Jimmy Carter First Lady from Plains by Rosalynn Carter

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A bridge was six inches too narrow. Not because it was hard to fix — because no one had thought about it.

Greg Durso has been paralyzed from the chest down since a sledding accident in 2009. He's an athlete, an adventurer, and the Senior Program Ambassador of the Kelly Brush Foundation. Berne Broudy is a journalist and the co-director and producer of Best Day Ever — a new documentary film about what happens when a community decides the outdoors should genuinely belong to everyone.

They met on a group bike ride in Vermont when the group kept having to stop — not because of difficult terrain, but because the bridges were too narrow for Greg's adaptive bike. Two years later, they had built the first fully adaptive mountain bike trail network in the world.

In this episode: — Greg's injury, his return to the outdoors, and why the barrier to adaptive recreation goes far beyond equipment — The six-inch bridge that started everything — How a six-person volunteer board built the world's first fully adaptive mountain bike trail network — from scratch, with pink spray paint — What "adaptive friendly" actually means — and why checking a box isn't enough — The difference between ADA access and equal experience — The Kelly Brush Foundation's Adaptive Rec Hub — a free online resource for anyone with a physical disability — Over 180 miles of mapped adaptive-friendly trails in Vermont — and how to get there nationally — How to watch Best Day Ever and how to host a screening in your community — What the biggest barrier to inclusive recreation actually is (Berne's answer will surprise you)

Watch the film: bestdayever.mov Adaptive Rec Hub: kellybrushfoundation.org/adaptive-rec-hub How to Build Adaptive Trails (free YouTube series): search "How to Build Adaptive Trails"

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A UNESCO World Heritage Site. Over a thousand years of ancestral Pueblo history. Sacred tribal land protected through years of advocacy and 150 days of public comment. And the Department of Interior wants to revoke its last line of protection in 14 days.

Maude Dinan, New Mexico Program Manager with the National Parks Conservation Association, joins The Parks Podcast for an urgent conversation about the proposed revocation of the 10-mile buffer zone around Chaco Culture National Historical Park — and what it would mean for 300,000 acres of public land, 12,000 estimated cultural sites, and some of the most celebrated dark skies in the world.

In this episode: — What Chaco Culture National Historical Park is and why it's a UNESCO World Heritage Site — What the 10-mile protection zone is and why it exists — How revoking the buffer would impact the park — air quality, erosion, dark skies, and sacred views — Why 90% of federal land in the region is already leased — and why they want more — The Wilderness Society report: half of all leased federal land isn't even actively producing — How a protection that took 150 days of public comment could be undone in 14 — What you can do right now — before July 29th

⚠️ Take action before July 29th: Quick comment: npca.org/chaco Write your own: find the "Participate Now" button at the official BLM project page(link in show notes) Follow @NPCA for the latest updates

Related: Episode 75 — Bears Ears and Grand Staircase: What Just Happened

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July 22nd is National Hammock Day — and if you've been following My Hammock Summer, you already know exactly how to celebrate.

This episode was originally released as Episode 33. I'm bringing it back because it's better now than it was then — not because anything changed about the conversation, but because everything changed about how I understand it. Anna Rawlins, Chief Marketing Officer at ENO, described from the outside what I now know from the inside: that a hammock isn't just a product. It's an invitation to slow down.

In this episode: — ENO's origin story: two brothers, a van, music festivals, 1999 — and the first knotless hammock suspension system — Hammock stats: Apollo 12, the Swiss sleep study, a $1.45 billion industry, and a 500-foot hammock in Moab — How to hang a hammock safely — the 18-inch rule, tree diameter, Leave No Trace, and why Joshua Tree doesn't allow them — Four ways to hammock: camping sleep system, at home, in a park, and as everyday backyard furniture — The under quilt — why you need it for sleeping below 60°F — ENO and Asheville: an update on Hurricane Helene recovery and how to support the community — National Hammock Day celebrations, contests, and how ENO marks July 22nd every year

Originally released as Episode 33. Relaunched for National Hammock Day 2026 with a new introduction.

Links mentioned: — ENO: eaglesnestoutfittersinc.com — My Hammock Summer: catchyourselfsmiling.com — Visit Asheville: exploreasheville.com — Leave No Trace: lnt.org

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On July 13th, President Trump signed two proclamations rolling back nearly 90% of the protected boundaries of Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monuments — three million acres of public land opened to potential drilling, mining, and extraction. The Bears Ears Commission, an intertribal coalition, has been disbanded.

Katie Johnson, Campaigns and Engagement Manager at the Conservation Alliance, joins The Parks Podcast for an urgent conversation on what just happened, what the proclamations actually say, and what you can do right now.

In this episode: — What the proclamations actually do: boundaries, acreage, and what 90% rollback means on the ground — The Bears Ears Commission: what it was and why its disbanding matters for tribal nations — What the White House says vs. what Utah voters actually want (91% of Western voters want monuments preserved) — The false narrative: recreational use, hunting, and fishing were already allowed under monument designation — The wilderness study area catch-22: the proposed safeguard that is also under attack — What you can do right now: Monuments for All letter, contacting your representatives, and the Conservation Alliance business sign-on — Why the $1.3 trillion outdoor recreation economy gives businesses an outsized voice with this administration — What this signals for other public lands designations across the country

Take action now: — Fill out the Monuments for All letter: monumentsforall.com — Contact your representative: congress.gov/members/find-your-member — Businesses: join the Conservation Alliance sign-on at conservationalliance.com

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Summer vacation too expensive? Too complicated? Too late to plan? Missy and Shannon Jones of KeeKee's Big Adventures are here to debunk all of it.

Parks — national, state, and local — are the most affordable, flexible, and genuinely fun summer vacation option out there. You don't need a six-month plan. You don't need a tent. You just need to take the first step.

In this episode: —

• Why 89% of parents say they're traveling this summer no matter what — and how to do it without breaking the bank
• The real barrier to park vacations (hint: it's not money, it's not knowing how easy it actually is)
• Why kids don't get bored in nature — they build forts, discover roly-polies, and catch fireflies
• How to work the reservation system: weekdays, off-season, Airbnbs just outside the gate, last-minute site releases
• KeeKee's Park Activity Suggester — the fortune teller / cootie catcher that picks your next outdoor adventure
• What My Hammock Summer is — and why Shannon's husband Paul is already in his

Links mentioned:

• KeeKee's Big Adventures: keekeesbigadventures.com
• My Hammock Summer: catchyourselfsmiling.com
• Find a park: nps.gov/findapark or stateparks.org

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Everything you learn outside follows you home. The resilience to own a mistake in front of your team. The ability to sit with discomfort without shutting down. The capacity to notice something beautiful you've walked past a hundred times.

Jesse Tubb, founder of GRIT Adventures and former active duty Army officer, joins The Parks Podcast to talk about what nature actually teaches us — and how the lessons from playing outside translate directly into the rest of life. He works with youth, veterans, grieving military families, sports teams, and corporations — using adventure racing and mindfulness-based resilience skills to help people build confidence, regulate emotions, and reconnect with themselves through the outdoors.

In this episode:
— What GRIT Adventures is and how it started during the pandemic
— Why our devices are the biggest barrier keeping people from going outside
— The somatic experience of getting lost in the woods — and why it's actually valuable
— The eating meditation Jesse does with kids in detention centers that reframes what it means to be connected to the earth
— Why we over-parent in the real world and under-parent in the digital world — and what it costs kids
— The healing power of communal outdoor experiences for veterans and military families
— The 5% problem — why outdoor marketing targets extreme athletes when 95% of users just want to take a walk
— Micro adventures — how to start with 10% outside your comfort zone
— Creeking — and why it might be the perfect entry point for anyone

Resources mentioned:
— GRIT Adventures: gritadventures.com
— TAPS: taps.org
— Wounded Warrior Project Odyssey: woundedwarriorproject.org
— The Anxious Generation by Jonathan Haidt: anxiousgeneration.com
— Jesse's eating meditation: https://youtu.be/-uVj0Zqhb_k?si=iKu5g76F8ogldpDb

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The public comment window on the proposed 250-foot Triumphal Arch in Washington DC closes June 15. I sat down with Priya Jain, Chair of the Heritage Conservation Committee for the Society of Architectural Historians, to talk about what this proposal actually involves, why it threatens one of the most historically significant viewsheds in the country, and why your comment matters even when it feels like the decision is already made.

Submit your comment before June 15 at parkplanning.nps.gov

Follow the journey. 🌲

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