Kurt Repanshek


Biography

Kurt Repanshek built his journalism career atop a 14-year stint with The Associated Press that saw him rise 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, his articles have appeared in Smithsonian, National Geographic Traveler, Audubon, National Wildlife, Hemispheres, Wilderness, and other publications. He launched NPT in August 2005 because of his love, and concern, for national parks.

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

During his AP career Kurt helped direct and contribute to AP coverage of the 1988 forest fires in and around Yellowstone National Park; covered statewide, congressional, and presidential campaigns, and; closely followed public lands issues in the Rocky Mountain West. A freelance story he wrote on the collapse of the WordPerfect software designer won top honors from the Society of Professional Journalists, Utah chapter.



Kurt's Most Recent Comments (view all)


Kurt's Most Recent Articles (view all)
An astronaut aboard the space shuttle Endeavour is carrying with him a Zion National Park commemorative coin, an expression, perhaps, that the park's red-rock landscape is other worldly.
Not all proposed wilderness areas are always pristine. Some have waning vestiges of an early day. In Dinosaur National Monument, for instance, there long have been some falling down structures in an area along the Green River that has been recommended for wilderness designation. It took a while, but crews from the monument were able to remove all the facilities from the setting.
In one of the "Iron man," or perhaps "Iron dog," events of sled-dog racing, the 1,000-mile Yukon Quest race is under way, with 24 teams mushing from Fairbanks, Alaska, to Whitehorse in the Canadian Yukon. The trail follows historic Gold Rush and Mail Delivery routes from the turn of the 20th Century, and passes through part of Yukon-Charley Rivers National Preserve.
The Wilderness Act was enacted in 1964. After nearly a half-century, the wilderness edifice of the national park system is only half complete. Ten years ago, Wes Henry, the NPS Wilderness Coordinator, directed that a report document the unfinished wilderness agenda of the parks. Some progress has since been made. The year ahead may be a good year. Much remains to be done.
A diminutive creature that struggles with warmer temperatures brought on by climate change will not receive Endangered Species Act protection for its predicament, the Obama administration has decided in a move that brought quick condemnation from some corners.
A controversial rule change concerning firearms in national parks takes effect February 22, a change likely to cause confusion and raise concerns over personal safety, but one also that could go largely unnoticed and give some a measure of personal security.
For going on 150 years the landscapes of the National Park System have been inspiring artists. Thomas Moran, Albert Bierstadt and Maynard Dixon are just three of the long, distinguished roster of artists who found their proverbial muse in places such as Yellowstone, Yosemite, and Zion national parks. Here are two more you can add to that list, one contemporary, one from the early 20th Century.
I must admit that the only paddling I've done south of the Mason-Dixon Line was on the white-water rivers of West Virginia. The thought of paddling the watery tendrils of Everglades National Park conjures thoughts of swarms of insects that'd keep me swatting the air more than paddling the water. But a recent report by the park on paddling the Nobel Hammock Trail has given me a change of heart.
If all goes as expected, 14 moose that roam Voyageurs National Park soon will be wearing the latest in radio-collar technology. Not only will the collars track the animals' movements, but they're expected to shed some light on how the moose are reacting to climate change, as they'll also keep tabs on the air temperature wherever the moose roam.
My first visit to Yosemite National Park back in June 1999 coincided with a rockfall that forced me out of a tent cabin in Curry Village and into one in Tuolumne Meadows. Ever since, I've been intrigued by rockfalls in the park's iconic valley. While the frequency of rockfalls in recent years might be alarming to park visitors, they are calling cards evidencing the active geology that's ongoing in Yosemite.