Public Lands Podcast

A conversation with Clement Loo, Host of the Just Sustainability Podcast, concerning public land policies and changing cultural perspectives on land.

Environmental Journalist Heather Hansman discusses the reclamation of mines and other lands for the creation of parks and trails as well as the work and life of an environmental journalist.

An interview with Stephen Capra, Executive Director of Footloose Montana. Capra discusses conservation issues surrounding the trapping of wildlife in Montana as well as the increasing numbers of wolves hunted each year in the state. Photo taken by Gary Kramer and used under Creative Commons license.

Courtney Lyons-Garcia, Executive Director of the Public Lands Foundation, discusses the work of the PLF and their ongoing efforts to steward and advocate for Bureau of land Management lands, waterways, and communities. Credit and thanks to Justin Meissen for the use of photo, copyright: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/

A discussion with Trish Riley, Founding Director of the Cinema Verde Film and Arts Festival in Gainesville, Florida. Trish explains the important and growing roles of film, festivals, and the arts in environmental stewardship.

Today we talk with Abby Wines, Spokesperson for Death Valley National Park, about the recent heat waves and what can be learned from Death Valley when facing a future of increasingly extreme weather. 

An interview with Chris Havel, Associate Director of the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department. After Portland hit 116 degrees on Monday, June 28, and a “heat dome” hovered over the Pacific Northwest, what did this weather event portend for Oregon's state parks and what does it portend for the future?

Patrick Kelly explores the Newton Horace Winchell Trail along the Mississippi River Gorge

Sean Quartz interviews Blair Libby. Libby has helped facilitate collaboration between Forest Managers belonging to the National Forest Service, Salish, Kootanai, and Pend d’Oreille tribes.

Nicole Binder covers the Powderhorn Park Neighborhood of Raingardens project in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and interviews the Executive Director of Metro Blooms, Becky Rice

Dalicia Davis speaks to environmental justice organizer and teacher, Louis Alemayehu. Alemayehu teaches environmental sustainability at the Higher Education Consortium for Urban Affairs in Minneapolis Minnesota and is a community organizer with Environmental Justice Advocates of Minnesota (EJAM).

This week we visit Milltown State Park and the Four Dances Recreation Area in Montana as well as the Lower Paddock Trail in Theodore Roosevelt National Park. It is a hopeful story of confluence, conservation, and restoration told at and across each of these beautiful parks and preserves. Photography and original sound produced on site. Additional sound files provided by the following Freesound contributors: sandyrb, ryanconway, AlanCat, Andune, fabianofa, waxsocks, InspectorJ Bansemer, Nivatius, and bevibeldesign.

An interview with Tim Morton about his book Hyperobjects: Philosophy and Ecology after the End of the World, hosted by the Environmental Humanities Initiative at the University of Minnesota.

Grace Augustin interviews wildlife photographer, Ben Olson.

Carynn Jo Randolph explores discrimination against LGBTQ communities, equity, access, and inclusion in outdoor recreation

Alexandra Barret explores the ecological roles played by urban parks and gardens and interviews Dr. Greg Pratt in regard to the effects of poor air quality on parks and gardens. Photo used by permission from Mactan Urban Demonstration Farm.

Valerie Lucas interviews Julie Van Stappen, Chief of Resource Management at Apostle Islands National Lakeshore about the islands, Lake Superior, and the environmental challenges they have been facing in recent years. Photo courtesy of Jeff the quiet, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons.

Grace Hiljus interviews National Park Service Ranger Hanna Schwalbe about the impact of air pollution at Joshua Tree National Park.

This year will bring new interviews of environmental and public land experts each week, dropping on Mondays, starting January 25. This podcast kicks off the year by telling what's to come and reviewing the many environmental regulations rolled back during the Trump Administration, including in the waning days of his Presidency.

Taylor Leapaldt interviews legendary singer songwriter about his performance for the Together Alone project (togetheralonemusic.net) and the role of music in relation to environmental justice, making place, and protecting public lands. Photo of Chuckanut Point used with permission: By Waterboy881 - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=76218539