A short 3 minute journey into the snowy winter season in Yellowstone National Park. Buffalo still roam, rivers still flow, but the entire place in winter is surrounded in mist and snow, which totally change the outlook on the landscape. The erupting geyser at the end of the video is pretty cool.

As part of the continuing "Holiday in the National Parks" celebration, the White House has released a video called BarneyCam in which we get to see President Bush's dogs get Junior Ranger status. It is corny, probably intended just for kids, but I got a laugh out of it. Maybe you will too.

At a time when politics in Washington truly are a “contact sport,” we shouldn’t be too surprised when we learn that science has been trumped when it comes to decisions affecting the national park system. Should we be disappointed? Of course. But surprised? Unfortunately not. Directors Fran Mainella and Mary Bomar provide interviews for this podcast.

Recently, former assistant secretary at the Interior Department and current executive vice president at The Wilderness Society, Don Barry, spoke at the Association of National Park Rangers' annual conference. He described a right-wing program to systematically shrink the size of the federal government, called "starve the beast," that he says has detrimental effects on land-management agencies.

A 3 minute video postcard from a recent visit to the Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve in Kansas. Interpreters show the historic house, and lead us on a bus tour of the prairie. Follow along on a short hike as well.

Video tour of the Lake Quinault area of Olympic National Park. Dave Huber shows us around the historic Lake Quinault Lodge, and former park ranger Roger Blain leads us on a walk of the Maple Glade trail, a very green, mossy temperate rain forest experience, topped off with some Roosevelt Elk.

There are places in the national park system where hunting is allowed. That's not the issue with this post. Rather, it's the ethical questions that swirl around the bear "hunt" that the National Park Service has allowed in the preserve portion of Katmai National Park and Preserve in Alaska. Video attached.

On July 17, 1944, a giant explosion occurred at the Port Chicago Naval Magazine, near San Francisco. It was the largest US home front disaster during WWII, killing 320 men, 202 of whom were African American. This location should be a National Park Unit. Our latest audio program has more detail.

Relax next to the cascading waters of Frijoles Creek in Bandelier National Monument, under the shade of the trees along the picnic road. You'll be able to hear some birds chirping along, as well as a child's call about half-way through.

In this audio program, we hear Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne announce the first round of programs eligible for funding under the Centennial Initiative, a ten year plan which could bring $3 Billion in new appropriations for the National Parks.

Nancy Bandley is the president of a club which promotes national park visitation. The favorite club activity is collecting park passport stamps from around the nation. In this 18 minute interview, Nancy and I talk about the stamp program, her club, and the club's annual conference being held this weekend in Olympic National Park.

Yesterday, the National Park Service, represented by director Mary Bomar, and other groups met in subcommittee hearings for both the House and the Senate to answer questions regarding the Centennial Challenge. The audio from the Hill is of the Senate hearing. Listen to a few select questions Senators asked Director Bomar during this edited audio program.

Wondering what you'd see in the Sol Duc Valley of Olympic National Park? Have a look at this 4 minute video for my perspective taken earlier this summer.

In this third edition of the Park Remark audiocast, I have a phone conversation with Andrea Lankford who is the author of the book Haunted Hikes: Spine-Tingling Tales and Trails from North America's National Parks. Andrea and I have some fun covering some of the scary stories in her book. We also take a few minutes to cover the larger scope of these stories as they relate to cultural resource protection within the National Park Service.

Last week I had a chance to sit down and have an interview with Sean Smith, the Northwest Regional Director of the National Parks and Conservation Association. Sean was a lot of fun to talk to, I found him to be very knowledgeable about many park issues. Today's conversation covers two big topics, the November storms which did many millions of dollars worth of damage to Northwest National Parks, and also covers the ongoing Park Service listening sessions.