National parks are not alone in grappling with crowds. Many gateway communities surrounding our national parks are notable for their own amazing offerings -- natural beauty with tranquil spots for solitude and reflection…and nice venues for dining, listening to live music and pursuing year-round outdoor recreational and leisure activities.  But when the management of visitation in these areas is unchecked, and the very resources that make these places highly desirable destinations are strained, can anything really be done?   The community of Jackson, Wyoming, hopes so.  Recognizing that residents, business owners and visitors all share in the responsibility of preserving the area’s unique character and allure, stakeholders throughout Teton County have put together a comprehensive sustainable destination management plan. The goal is to protect the beauty of the area, preserve a healthy environment and, at the same time, enhance visitor experience, business growth and quality of life for residents.   This week the Traveler’s Lynn Riddick talks with Crista Valentino of the Jackson Hole Travel and Tourism Board to find out what’s in the plan and how it will help.

It's easy to take the status of national parks for granted. We read wonderful beckoning stories about them in magazines and newspapers. And we watch gorgeous travelogue pieces about them on television. But how much do we know about the operational status of the national parks? How much do we know about the health of the natural resources, the condition of historic structures, the state of the workforce that operates and manages the national parks?

In short, we know really very little about those things. But at Yellowstone National Park, staff has been preparing "State of the Park" reports for some years. These reports provide some insights into the overall health of the park, if you will. Yellowstone National Park Superintendent Cam Sholly sat down with Traveler Editor Kurt Repanshek to discuss this year's report.

Across the National Park System, there are incredible sights that explore American history. There’s a robust mix of cultures reflected in the parks, and breathtaking vistas that, well, will take your breath away.

But there also are seemingly countless needs, from backlogs of maintenance projects, interpretation for history, wildlife and science that needs to be crafted, and unique issues that can range from climate change impacts to helping inner city youth visit a park.

Helping the National Park Service tackle these myriad issues and challenges is the National Park Foundation, which Congress created back in 1967 to be the official charitable organization for the parks. Through the years, this organization has raised hundreds of millions of dollars for the parks. Today, with National Parks Week underway, we’re joined by Will Shafroth, the Foundation’s CEO to discuss not only the needs of the park system, but the successes the Foundation is recognizing in tackling some of them. 

Travel extensively through the National Park System, and you’ll quickly come to realize that the park’s restaurants try to reflect the local culinary trends, or at least use local ingredients in crafting their menus. For instance, visit national parks in Alaska and you can pretty much count on salmon in the dinner offerings. Travel through the parks in the Rocky Mountains, and elk (and sometimes bison) will appear on the menus. Explore parks in the southwest, and you can almost predict that cacti will show up in some form. You can be amazed at the menus that chefs in the National Park System roll out. Even more amazing is how they feed hundreds of people at meal time, and largely maintain consistency with what they put in front of you. This week we’re going to explain how you can mimic some of these chefs in your own kitchen. Our guest is Linda Ly, author of “The National Parks Cookbook.” We’ll see if we can inspire you with new home menus, from beverages and appetizers, to entrees and desserts.

Over the years there have been more than a few units of the National Park System that have been head-scratchers. Why were they added? What redeeming value did they bring to the park system? 

James Ridenour who was director of the National Park Service from 1989 through 1993, was well familiar with these units. As he once put it, “I’m in complete agreement that the National Park Service has units that are unworthy of National Park Service status. That was my motive for coining the term ‘thinning of the blood’.”

Members of Congress trade votes to get their local favorite on the NPS teat, usually to attract tourists. Then they don’t add money to the budget to run these units. So you have two things - you thin the quality of the system, and you thin the ability of the National Park Service to run the system.

We’re going to explore some of these units, at least some of the ones that were pushed out of the National Park System, with none-other than Traveler Professor Emeritus Dr. Robert Janiskee. Bob was the one who quite some years ago started the “Pruning the Parks” series on the Traveler, and we’ve momentarily  pried him out of his retirement to discuss some of these parks with us. 

When warm weather spreads across the National Park System, many parks offer nightly gatherings around the campfire. The tradition of gathering around a flickering fire goes back thousands of years. Fire, after all, was the giver of light in the darkest of night, and seen as offering safety from what might lurk about in the dark.

For the park visitor, nightly campfire gatherings are not about feeling safe from the darkness, but rather an opportunity to learn about the surrounding park landscape from a well informed park ranger. Back in 1968, a National Park Service training brochure explained that the national park campfire provides an opportunity to weld the visitor's random experiences and impressions into an understanding and appreciation for the park’s real values. Of course, there are a number of definitions and expectations for what constitutes a campfire story. 

Today we’re going to explore “Campfire Stories: Tales from America’s National Parks and Trails” with editors of the book Dave and Ilyssa Kyu. 

Coastal grey wolves in Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve in Alaska seem to be feasting well these days on an unlikely food source - sea otters. In fact, the shorelines of Glacier Bay offer wolves a cornucopia of otters and other marine menu items, providing this carnivorous predator safe and dependable locations for food and raising offspring.

This week the Traveler’s Lynn Riddick speaks with park wildlife biologist Tania Lewis, whose research team is evaluation coastal wolf diets. Their goals are to identify different wolf packs and the shoreline areas important to them for feeding and reproduction. With annual visitation to Glacier Bay approaching 550,000, the team’s work will be instrumental in determining whether those areas should be protected from unnecessary human disturbance.

How did America get hooked on skiing? In 1939, Hannes Schneider moved from Austria to North Conway, New Hampshire, to teach skiing. But before the sport really took off, World War II broke out. After the war, a gritty band of soldiers who fought in the US Army’s 10th Mountain Division, returned home into the mountains they loved. 

Last week, Christian Beckwith, an alpinist and climbing historian, introduced us to the 10th Mountain Division and how it was jump-started by climbers who had honed their skills in the craggy mountains of Grand Teton National Park.  

Beckwith, who rolls out this history in his podcast “Ninety-Pound Rucksack”, is back with us today to explain how those soldiers kick-started the ski industry in America, started organizations such as the National Outdoor Leadership School, and played a role in fields of avalanche science and wilderness rescue.

How much do you know about World War II history, Grand Teton National Park, and the evolution of outdoor recreation in the United States? Believe it or not, they’re all intertwined. 

Ninety-Pound Rucksack is a podcast about the U.S. Army’s legendary 10th Division, and the dawn of outdoor recreation in America. Hosted by veteran alpinist and climbing historian Christian Beckwith, Ninety-Pound Rucksack examines the stories that made the unit legendary, as well as those that history has forgotten. 

The tale of the 10th Mountain Division, a gritty unit of World War II climbers and skiers who trained for more than two years high in the Colorado Rockies to fight the Axis powers in extreme cold and mountainous terrain, is famous for good reason. Not only did its insertion into the war help end Germany’s occupation of Italy, but post-war its surviving members helped found and develop ski areas across America, started organizations such as the National Outdoor Leadership School, and played a role in the fields of avalanche science and wilderness rescue. 

Equal parts real-time research, intimate conversation, and revelatory journalism, Ninety-Pound Rucksack explores not only the conventional wisdom about the 10th, but the transformative power of the mountains to forge a collective identity among the mountain troops. And to ignite a passion for the outdoors that reshaped American society in the process.

Big Bend National Park is not simply a park that you pass along the way. Located in West Texas along the US/Mexico border, this 1,252-square-mile park is five hours from the closest commercial airport. In other words, you must make Big Bend your final destination if you’re going to visit. You’re not going to just happen upon it as you drive down the road. But once here, you’re likely to be astounded by the ruggedness, the beauty of the Chisos Mountain Range that falls entirely within the park's borders, and the rich cultural history preserved here.

Aside from the natural beauty of Big Bend, there’s a lot going on here that’s going to affect most visitors. There’s work to design a new lodge, a question of whether the official wilderness designation should be applied to some of the park's landscape, and there are staffing issues and even wildlife issues. The Traveler’s Lynn Riddick traveled to Big Bend to discuss these issues and more with Superintendent Bob Krumenaker.