Park Talks

NPCA is proud to bring you a collection of free Park Talks. These live presentations provide an opportunity to hear from staff, park experts and partners about some of the park stories, victories and threats we most want to share.

If you can’t attend, check back here after the Park Talk for the recording.

Upcoming Park Talks

How can a shirt, a hotel stay and a beer protect parks? Help celebrate National Park Week this year by learning how three incredible national brands are doing their part to protect parks alongside NPCA – and all of you!

Join this Park Talk on April 19, hosted by NPCA’s Mark Wenzler, to hear from Parks Project’s Abbey Robertson, Travelodge® by Wyndham’s Haley Maglio and Breckenridge Brewery’s Todd Thibault. By the end of our hourlong chat, you’ll know that yes, a shirt, hotel stay and a beer truly can make a difference for our national parks. And so can you!

Monday, April 19 RSVP ›

Past Park Talks

April 2021

Loco for Local Plants: Connecting with Native Plants. Antonio Sanchez, Native Plant Nursery Manager with the Santa Monica Mountains (SAMO) Fund will share his experiences and knowledge of native plants in southern California, in addition to highlighting upcoming volunteer opportunities.

March 2021

• Amache: A living history, an American story, and a new opportunity for the National Park Service. Learn why NPCA supports the creation of a new national park in Colorado at Amache, a former WWII Japanese American incarceration site, and hear from Amache descendants and experts about the importance of honoring and preserving this place for future generations. The March 24 recording is available here.

January 2021

• From Bear Dens to the Oval Office, a Park Talk with Sheridan Steele. The former Acadia National Park superintendent talks about his 38 years with the Park Service and his new book. The Jan. 28 recording is available here.

• Over a Decade of Growth: Seeing the Big Thicket Thrive. The Jan. 18 recording is available here.

• A Clear Solution: Reducing Haze at our Texas Parks. The Jan. 6 recording is available here.

December 2020

• Justice for Jamestown: A Conversation with Former National Park Service Director Jonathan Jarvis. The Dec. 17 recording is available here.

• The National Park Experience, featuring Limestone Branch Distillery’s Stephen Beam, BACKPACKER Magazine’s Randy Propster, and two members of NPCA’s Next Generation Advisory Council. The Dec. 9 recording is available here. Additional resources can be found here.

• The Woolsey Fire Two Years Later: Recovery and Restoration in the Santa Monica Mountains. The Dec. 1 recording is available here.

November 2020

• Post-Election Park Talk, featuring NPCA policy experts. The November 10th recording is available here.

October 2020

• Understanding Civil Rights Through our National Parks and Heritage Areas, featuring Dr. Rolando Herts, director of the Delta Center, and Dr. Tina Jones, professor at the University of West Alabama. The October 29th recording is available here. Additional reading and resources are available here.

• Seeing Clearly: Advocating for Clean Air in Parks. The October 27th recording is available here.

• Wyoming’s Wild Migrations, featuring Matt Kauffman, lead scientist for the Wyoming Migration Initiative and research wildlife biologist for the U.S. Geographical Survey. The October 14th recording is available here.

September 2020

• Human-Caused Climate Change and Solutions in Our National Parks – A briefing by Dr. Patrick Gonzalez, Principal Climate Change Scientist of the U.S. National Park Service. The September 29th recording is available here.

• Voices of Dinosaur National Monument, featuring representatives from the National Park Service, filmmaker and advocate Cody Perry, and other area experts. The September 29th recording is available here.

• Venture Out Film & Panel Discussion, featuring Spruce Tone Films Co-Founders Matthew Mikkelsen & Palmer Morse, Perry Cohen, executive director and founder of The Venture Out Project, Jamie DiNicola of TransWave Films, and Sergio Moncada, NPCA’s Northeast regional program manager. The September 24th recording is available here..

• Wild Lands, Sacred Lands – Protecting the Badger Two Medicine, featuring Dylan DesRosier, Blackfeet tribal member. The September 23rd recording is available here.

• Documentary Screening of “The Mystery of Chaco Canyon,” featuring a panel discussion with Governor Brian Vallo of the Pueblo of Acoma and Julia Bernal with Pueblo Action Alliance. The September 22nd recording is available here. (Passcode: 1^HcGL2#)

• The Unspoken Science of Climate Change in South Florida’s National Parks. The September 17th recording is available here.

• World Heritage Site at Risk: Chaco Canyon National Historical Park. The September 10th recording is available here.

August 2020

• The Glories and Challenges of the National Parks, featuring explorer/writer/photographer Jon Waterman. The August 25th recording is available here. Additional reading and resources available here.

• Suffrage and Seneca Falls, featuring staff from Women’s Rights National Historical Park and celebrating the centennial of the 19th amendment. The August 19th recording is available here.

• The Amargosa River, Where Hydrology Becomes Biology, featuring Patrick Donnelly, Center for Biological Diversity’s Nevada state director. The August 13th recording is available here.

• Beyond Boundaries: Restoring the Migration Routes of the Yellowstone Pronghorn Antelope, featuring Julie Cunningham, a wildlife biologist with Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks. The August 12th recording is available here.

July 2020

• Ancient Desert Plants, featuring Chris Clarke, associate director for NPCA’s California Desert program. The July 30th recording is available here.

• The Science of Marine Reserves: Protecting Coral and Wildlife in Florida’s National Parks, featuring world-renowned angler, Dr. Martin “Marty” Arostegui. The July 23rd recording is available here.

• Great American Outdoors Act, featuring Senior Vice President of Government Affairs Kristen Brengel, Chair of NPCA’s Board of Trustees Vic Fazio, NPCA’s Senior Director of Budget and Appropriations John Garder, and Next Generation Advisory Council member Jessica Loya. The July 23rd recording is available here. Additional resources can be found here.

• Seeing the Connection: The Intersection of Energy Development & Air Quality at Parks in the Southwest. The July 22nd recording is available here.

• Half the Park is After Dark: Protecting the Intrinsic Value of the Night Sky, featuring Stephen C. Hummel of the Texas McDonald Observatory. The July 21st recording is available here.

• The Arts, the Desert, the Pandemic and Exile, with the Luna Arcana journal. The July 16th recording is available here.

• Forgotten History: Chinese Americans and the Formation of Our National Park System, featuring remarks from Yenyen Chan, Yosemite National Park ranger, and Jack Shu, formerly of California State Parks. The July 9th recording is available here.

• California Desert’s Conglomerate Mesa, featuring Bryan Hatchell, Friends of the Inyo. The July 1st recording is available here.

June 2020

• Julius Rosenwald: The Most Important Donor You’ve Never Heard Of, featuring Alan Spears, senior director for Cultural Resources at NPCA; Dorothy Canter, president of the Campaign to Establish the Julius Rosenwald and Rosenwald Schools National Historical Park; Robert Stanton, former senior advisor to the Secretary of the U.S. Department of the Interior; and Stephanie Deutsch, author of “You Need a Schoolhouse, Booker T. Washington, Julius Rosenwald and the Building of Schools for the Segregated South.” The June 30th recording is available here. Additional reading and resources available here.

• Connecting the LGBTQ Community to the Outdoors, featuring the Venture Out Project. The June 24th recording is available here.

• Speaking up for the Swamp: What’s at Stake in Big Cypress, featuring Dr. Melissa Abdo of NPCA. The June 18th recording is available here.

• Pebble Redux: Film & Discussion, learn how the best brown bear habitat in the world is threatened by the proposed Pebble Mine in Alaska. The June 16th recording is available here.

• World Oceans Day Park Talk, A Conversation with Award-winning Photographer and Filmmaker Ian Shive, featuring behind-the-scenes photos and stories. The June 8th recording is available here. Additional reading and resources available here.

• Moosewatch Expedition: Stories from Isle Royale, featuring past Moosewatch volunteers who have traversed the park searching for moose and wolf signs to inform the longest running predator-prey study in the world. The June 3rd recording is available here.

May 2020

• Searching for the Ghost Bear in the North Cascades, featuring Dr. Bill Gaines, lead biologist organizing the search for the great bear. The May 28th recording is available here.

• To Love and To Advocate: What It Takes to Preserve and Protect the National Parks and How You Can Turn Your Love of the Parks into Advocacy, featuring NPCA’s Senior Director of Cultural Resources, Alan Spears. The May 26th recording is available here.

• Wildlife Recovery and the Elwha River, featuring Kim Sager-Fradkin, wildlife program manager for the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe. The May 21st recording is available here.

• Bears Ears to Hovenweep: Conserving a Connected Cultural Landscape, featuring Kurt Riley, former governor of the Pueblo of Acoma, and Amanda Podmore, consultant for NPCA’s Southwest and Energy teams. The May 19th recording is available here.

• Sound the Bugle, See the Stars: How History and Nature are Enjoyed at Fort Davis National Historical Park, featuring NPS rangers. The May 19th recording is available here.

• The Atomic Frontier and Black Life at Hanford, featuring Jackie Peterson, guest curator for the similarly named 2015-2016 exhibition at the Northwest African American Museum. The May 14th recording is available here.

• NPCA’s Work to Protect Parks from Oil & Gas Development, featuring Theresa Pierno and Matt Kirby of NPCA. The May 7th recording is available here. Additional reading and resources available here.

April 2020

• Tahoma & Its People: A Natural History of Mount Rainier National Park, featuring Jeff Antonelis-Lapp. The April 23rd recording is available here.

• Let It Not Happen Again: Lessons from the Japanese American Exclusion, featuring Clarence Moriwaki. The April 16th recording is available here.

• Solving a Wilderness Puzzle: North Cascades National Park, featuring Lauren Danner. The April 9th recording is available here.