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It's time to go on offense.

Today I'm joined by Fitz Cahall — host of the Dirtbag Diaries podcast — to launch Save Public Lands, a coalition-backed initiative to gather one million signatures and deliver them to Congress and state houses on National Public Lands Day, September 26th, 2026.

Three demands: No sell-offs. No backroom deals. No giveaways to foreign mining companies.

Sign it now at savepubliclands.us — it's four fields: first name, last name, zip code, email. Done. Then share it with five friends.

In this episode: — Why the outdoor community is going on offense after two years of playing defense — The three demands behind the Save Public Lands initiative — How signatures get used: the plan to physically deliver them to DC and state houses — The Boundary Waters — how community pressure stopped a toxic mine (multiple times) — Why this moment matters: a new Congress, a new election, a new chance to be heard — What public lands mean personally to Fitz — from climbing in Yosemite to building Dirtbag Diaries

Take action: → Sign the petition: savepubliclands.us → Share this episode → Tell five friends

Five weeks. One million signatures. National Public Lands Day, September 26th.

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Bulldozers just showed up inside Big Bend National Park.

28 environmental regulations waived. A $1.7 billion contract awarded to a subsidiary created specifically to protect its parent company's brand. Bipartisan local opposition from Republican sheriffs, judges, and the Republican congressional nominee for the district. And 1.3% — that's the share of overall US border crossings that happen in the Big Bend sector.

Chris Keyes, executive director and founder of RE:PUBLIC — a publication dedicated to covering America's public lands — joins The Parks Podcast to break down exactly what's happening on the ground and what you can do about it.

In this episode: — How it started: Kristi Noem's February announcement waiving 28 environmental regulations — The $1.7 billion Kiewit contract and the subsidiary created to protect their brand — Why the Big Bend sector isn't a high-priority immigration area (migration down 75% since 2023) — The Endangered Species Act, Clean Water Act, and NEPA — all waived — Big Bend's dark skies designation and what surveillance road lighting would mean for it — Why local Republicans and Democrats are both opposed — and what a federal judge just ruled — What you can do: organizations to support, how to contact your representatives, why local pressure matters most — What's coming next: the Ambler Road in Alaska — 200 miles, 4,000 stream crossings, a foreign-owned mine

Take action:

• Follow RE:PUBLIC at republic.land and sign up for their newsletter (twice a week)
• Support the Center for Biological Diversity and other organizations fighting this in court
• Call and write your senator, representative, and — if you're in Texas — your state officials
• Share this episode

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He grew up in a house with no bathroom in the middle of nowhere, Georgia. His closest caretakers were Black neighbors in a community the segregated South shut out. After being President of the United States, he came back and lived in the same small ranch house he and Rosalynn built in 1961. When he died, he was buried in his front yard.

Jimmy Carter National Historical Park in Plains, Georgia tells 100 years of history — from birth to death — of two people who never stopped asking what more they could do. Jennifer Hopkins, Lead Education Ranger at the park, joins The Parks Podcast to share what you'll find there and why it's worth a full day (at minimum).

In this episode: — The boyhood farm set to 1937 — a working farm where President Carter's own voice tells his stories when you push the button — Jack and Rachel Clark — the Black neighbors who helped raise young Jimmy, whose house has the longest audio in the park — Earl Carter — far more than a peanut farmer. The businessman behind a commissary, an electrical corporation, and a New Deal farm program — Rosalynn's story — why she didn't want to come back to Plains, and how she became one of the most effective First Ladies in history — The Peanut Brigade — how Plains residents spent their own money canvassing the nation in 1976, one of the first grassroots campaigns in American presidential history — The campaign headquarters — a one-bathroom building that won a presidential election — Plains High School — now an immersive museum where you can sit at the Resolute desk and design your own campaign button — The Carter Gardens — open to the public, and where both President and Mrs. Carter are buried — When to go, what to bring, how to plan (September Peanut Festival, anyone?)

Recommended reading: An Hour Before Daylight by Jimmy Carter First Lady from Plains by Rosalynn Carter

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