NEWS | National Park Exhibits Removed, New Fire Agency, Pushback on Florida Springs National Park, & More

Parkography

RV Miles Network

Science, Nature, Places & Travel, Society & Culture:places & Travel, Society & Culture, History

4.9 • 870 Ratings

🗓️ 17 September 2025

⏱️ 13 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

This week’s National Parks & Public Lands News Roundup covers some big and controversial stories: Reports that slavery- and racism-related exhibits are being removed from multiple National Park Service sites following a new Interior Department directive. A proposal to create “Florida Springs National Park” is facing growing opposition. The Interior Department’s plan to rescind the Bureau of Land Management’s Public Lands Rule. The launch of a brand-new U.S. Wildland Fire Service to modernize wildfire response. A major water system failure at Mount Rainier’s Paradise Inn. A tragic fatality at Grand Canyon National Park. Zion National Park reopening its Weeping Rock Trail. And finally… why Yellowstone’s geysers have coughed up more than 300 hats (plus some bizarre bonus items). Find the Slinky Stove that's right for your next adventure at: https://www.slinkystove.com/?ref=PARKography Join the PARKography Facebook group to discuss this episode and more: https://www.facebook.com/groups/parkography Check out our other channels focused on RV travel: @RVMiles @RVMilesPodcast 00:00 Introduction and Overview00:46 Controversial Removal of Slavery Exhibits03:37 Debate Over Florida Springs National Park06:36 Changes at the Bureau of Land Management08:17 New US Wildland Fire Service09:16 Mount Rainier Water System Failure10:11 Grand Canyon Incident10:58 Zion National Park Reopens Weeping Rock Trail11:44 Yellowstone's Lost and Found12:59 Conclusion and Farewell

Transcript

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0:00.0	New reports share that signs and exhibits about slavery and racism are being removed from
0:05.0	national park sites under a new Interior Department directive. We'll break down what that means
0:10.1	in which parks are affected. A push to turn Florida Springs into the country's newest national
0:15.7	park is running into opposition. We'll look at why advocates say it could do more harm than good.
0:21.4	Big changes at the Bureau of Land Management affect how public lands can be used, a brand new
0:26.6	federal wildfire agency, and a major water system failure at Mount Rainier National Park
0:32.2	that's leaving visitors high and dry. Plus updates from the Grand Canyon, Zion, Yellowstone, and more. I'm Jason
0:39.1	Epperson. This is parkography, and it's time for the latest in National Park and Public Lands News.
0:45.8	Welcome back, everybody. First up, according to reporting from the Washington Post,
0:49.6	signs and exhibits related to slavery at multiple National Park Service sites are due to be removed,
0:55.5	according to four people familiar with the matter. Some have already been removed. The materials
1:00.5	include an historic photograph of a formerly enslaved man showing scars on his back. The
1:06.3	individuals spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak with the media.
1:11.3	They told the post that the removals were in line with President Donald Trump's March executive order,
1:16.9	directing the Interior Department to eliminate information that reflects a, quote,
1:21.3	corrosive ideology that disparages historic Americans.
1:24.9	According to the article, National Park Service officials are broadly
1:28.2	interpreting that directive to apply to information on racism, sexism, slavery, gay rights,
1:34.5	or persecution of indigenous people. The Interior Department issued policies earlier this year
1:39.5	ordering agency employees to report any information, including signage and gift shop items that might be
1:45.7	out of compliance with a deadline of tomorrow.
1:48.9	Trump officials also launched an effort asking park visitors to report offending material.
	...

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