285: A Love Worth Fighting For: Speaking Up For Our Public Lands

On Valentine’s Day 2025 4,400 Public Land workers were abruptly and illegally terminated from their positions and since then, news of executive orders threatening to exploit our public lands for their natural resources have been flooding headlines. To better understand the gravity of this situation and to hear straight from those most directly effected we are joined by Yosemite and Devils Postpile Ranger Alex Wild, Liz Crandall a field ranger in Deschutes National Forest, and Morgan Smith a Biological Science Technician for the US Forest Service. All three were recently terminated from their jobs due to the recent federal budget cuts. They share their love of the outdoors, explain the importance of their jobs, and speak to the dangerous repercussions our public lands will experience as a result of these terminations and extreme staffing shortages. PROTECT OUR PARKS MERCH! - 100% of our proceeds will be donated to and evenly allocated between The National Park Foundation and The National Forest Foundation. Sign petitions and write to your reps! Tell Congress to Protect National Park Service Staff Tell Interior Secretary Doug Burgum to protect national monuments from oil, gas, and mining Tell Congress national parks are worth fighting for Tell Congress to fund historic and cultural sites nationwide Tell Congress to protect wildlife in national parks Whitehouse resources: Unleashing American Energy Unleashing Alaska’s Resource Potential Immediate Expansion of Logging Timber (including BLM land, National Forests, and National Parks) For the latest NPAD updates, group travel details, merch and more, follow us on npadpodcast.com and our socials: Instagram: @‌ nationalparkafterdark TikTok: @‌ nationalparkafterdark Support the show by becoming an Outsider and receive ad free listening, bonus content and more on Patreon or Apple Podcasts . Want to see our faces? Catch full episodes on our YouTube Page ! Thank you to this week’s partners! IQBAR : Text PARK to 64000 to get 20% off all IQBAR products and free shipping. AG1 : AG1 is offering new subscribers a FREE $76 gift when you sign up. You’ll get a Welcome Kit, a bottle of D3K2 AND 5 free travel packs in your first box. So make sure to check out DrinkAG1.com/npad .