Kurt Repanshek

Though my career has introduced me to Bill Clinton, taken me down into the command capsule of an MX missile silo, and landed me in an editorial role with the Salt Lake Organizing Committee for the 2002 Winter Games, exploring and writing about the national parks has proven the most enjoyable to date.

I've stood on the top of the Grand Teton, cross-country skied to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon, paddled the backcountry of Yellowstone National Park, and enjoyed many other fascinating adventures in the park system.

But just as valuable as those experiences have been, so, too, is exploring the management side of the National Park System: the workings of the National Park Service, congressional action, or inaction, affecting the parks, and on-the-ground decisions pertaining to natural, cultural, and historic resources, as well as public access and enjoyment.

Before launching National Parks Traveler in August 2005, I spent 14 years stint with The Associated Press in positions ranging from a general assignment reporter to correspondent-in-charge for the state of Wyoming. Since embarking on a freelance career in the fall of 1993, my articles have appeared in Smithsonian, National Geographic Traveler, Audubon, National Wildlife, Hemispheres, Wilderness, and other publications.

My other other credits include an article on national parks of the world for Microsoft’s Encarta CD, as well as three guidebooks to the national parks. As a contributor to the Travel Arts Syndicate, my stories have appeared in the Miami Herald, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Denver Post, and other newspapers.

While the Traveler started out only as a means to promote my public lands, environmental, and outdoors writing, it has evolved into a vehicle for both promoting the national parks and nurturing advocates for them. Add your voice to the dialogue through commenting on our stories.