Earlier this month, the National Park Service had a major victory in a place you’ve probably never heard of and didn’t know was in danger. The focus of this good news is a humble warehouse on the outskirts of Charles Town, West Virginia, that houses millions of rare artifacts and employs a dream team of specialized staff devoted to restoring and conserving America’s history.

In March, the Department of Government Efficiency made plans to cancel the lease on this Park Service facility, throwing the future of these rare objects into question. Though the collections can stay in their specialized facility, for now, we investigate the highly skilled conservators, archivists and technicians who keep the country’s most precious papers and keepsakes from falling apart, and we delve into why “we need to be able to treat our history with the respect that it deserves, because that's how you honor the people who lived it.”

This episode, host Jennifer Errick speaks with Director Brendan Bray, Supervisory Conservator and Manager Theresa Voellinger, Textile Conservator Anne Ennes, Book and Paper Conservator Allison Holcomb, Inorganics Conservator Nicole Peters, Taxidermist and Organics Conservator Fran Ritchie, Chief Archivist Nancy Russell, Collections Manager and Museum Specialist Kyle Bryner, and NPCA Senior Director for Cultural Resources Alan Spears.

The Secret Lives of Parks is a production of the National Parks Conservation Association.

Episode 44, The Sum of Its Parts, was produced by Jennifer Errick, with help from Todd Christopher, Bev Stanton and Linda Coutant.

Original theme music by Chad Fischer.

Special thanks to all the National Park Service staff in Charles Town and Harpers Ferry who took time to talk with me and answer questions about their work.

Learn more about the National Park Service’s museum collections and read their Conserve O Grams at https://www.nps.gov/subjects/museums/conserve-o-grams.htm

Learn more about this podcast and listen to the rest of our stories at thesecretlivesofparks.org

For more than a century, the National Parks Conservation Association has been protecting and enhancing America’s national parks for present and future generations.

And we’re proud of it, too.

You can join the fight to preserve our national parks. Learn more and join us at npca.org

Over a decade ago, an explorer conducting surveys at Grand Canyon National Park noticed what appeared to be an opening in a red rock cliff face high above him in the park’s remote backcountry. His team discovered a cave that appeared, by all accounts, to have been completely untouched by people. Researchers found a series of passageways with gypsum formations and a variety of wildlife, including thousands and thousands of mummified bats.

In episode 4 of the podcast, we talked with several experts about this remarkable cave and its ancient remains. Since then, researchers have returned and ventured into a second cave, even more difficult to explore than the first, and made more exciting discoveries.

This episode, host Jennifer Errick speaks Carol Chambers, professor of wildlife ecology at Northern Arizona University; Shawn Thomas, volunteer caver and bat expert; and Stephen Eginoire, photojournalist. We learn about the implications for science, the extreme lengths the team takes to preserve the cave, and profound feeling of being the first person to set foot in an unmapped place.

The Secret Lives of Parks is a production of the National Parks Conservation Association.

Episode 43, Return to the Bat Cave, was produced by Jennifer Errick, with help from Todd Christopher, Bev Stanton and Linda Coutant.

Special thanks to Vincent Santucci.

Original theme music by Chad Fischer.

Read the Grand Canyon research team’s most recent paper at: parks.berkeley.edu/psf/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/psf_401_chambers_web.pdf

Read Stephen Eginoire’s story for the Grand Canyon Trust at: www.grandcanyontrust.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/AdvocateMagFall2024Digital.pdf

Learn more about this podcast and listen to the rest of our stories at thesecretlivesofparks.org

For more than a century, the National Parks Conservation Association has been protecting and enhancing America’s national parks for present and future generations.

And we’re proud of it, too.

You can join the fight to preserve our national parks. Learn more and join us at npca.org

Multiple staffing crises are harming the National Park Service, including mass layoffs, a hiring freeze, forced retirements and delays in onboarding seasonal employees — and a new reduction in force could be imminent. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum announced plans late last Friday to drastically consolidate land management agencies across the country, and a new round of terminations could affect every level of park management.

These reckless, wide-ranging job cuts come at a time when national parks are more popular than ever. How are parks — and people — coping under these ongoing employee upheavals?

This episode, host Jennifer Errick speaks with John Garder, senior director of budget and appropriation at the National Parks Conservation Association, and Cassidy Jones, former park ranger and visitation program manager for the National Parks Conservation Association, on how job cuts and insecurity are harming parks and morale, some of the long-term consequences for resource protection, and what people can do to support park staff.

The Secret Lives of Parks is a production of the National Parks Conservation Association.

Episode 42, Squeezed Thin: Park Staff in Upheaval, was produced by Jennifer Errick, with help from Todd Christopher, Bev Stanton and Linda Coutant.

Special thanks to Angela Gonzalez, Cory MacNulty and Abbey Robertson.

Original theme music by Chad Fischer.

Read Cassidy Jones’ recent blog story on how to prepare to visit understaffed parks at npca.org/prepare

Learn more about this podcast and listen to the rest of our stories at thesecretlivesofparks.org, including one of Cassidy’s favorite winter adventures in episode 15, The Little Jewel Box.

Remember, NPCA’s silent auction is live until April 28, and you can bid on your own podcast-style audio story, for you and about you, as well as many other cool experiences and keepsakes, at npca.org/auction

For more than a century, the National Parks Conservation Association has been protecting and enhancing America’s national parks for present and future generations.

And we’re proud of it, too.

You can join the fight to preserve our national parks. Learn more and join us at npca.org.