Last week we launched Save Public Lands. This week I sat down with Paul Hendricks — Executive Director of The Conservation Alliance — to talk about why it matters that we’re going on offense.

Something Paul said that I keep coming back to: the attacks on public lands aren’t just landscape-specific. It’s not just Bears Ears or Grand Staircase. The Roadless Rule impacts forests from Alaska to North Carolina. This is everywhere. This is everyone.

Save Public Lands is designed to be the meta-campaign — one place to put your voice instead of responding to every individual fight. Sign the petition, share it with five people, and know that it’s going somewhere: directly to Congress and state houses on September 26th.

savepubliclands.us. Four fields. Thirty seconds.

🎙 Listen to Episode 83

See you in the parks, Missy

The Roadless Rule comment period is open — and it closes September 21st.

The US Forest Service has proposed a full repeal of the rule that has protected 60 million acres of national forests from logging, road building, and mining since 2001. If it goes through, 45 million of those acres could be opened to industrial development.

I talked through everything with Katie Johnson of The Conservation Alliance on this week’s episode. She broke down what the DEIS actually says, why the “modified” alternative isn’t a real compromise, and who gets impacted — including everyone from AT thru-hikers to breweries.

The Conservation Alliance has a pre-filled comment form ready. Submit as-is or personalize it — either way it goes directly to regulations.gov and gets counted. Two minutes.

Link in the show notes. September 21st.

🎙 Listen to Episode 82

See you in the parks, Missy

A summer day makes me feel like I’m on a spit. Slowly rotating with a hot fire beneath me. I imagine my insides are cooking. They’re achy. They’re uncomfortable. And all I want to do is douse them with a glass of ice water.

I’ve always had a love-hate relationship with summer. There was this need — this should — to love it. To feel the youthful freedom of no school and summer vacation. But the reality was that I didn’t enjoy it. The heat. The mosquitoes and bug bites that attacked every evening. When I was camping I was always uncomfortable. That’s why I routed myself to cooler climates — but those are harder to come by.

I put the same expectations on summer that I put on the rest of the year. That I’d be active. That I’d long to get out for a good walk and maybe sweat a little — but not the sweat that comes from humidity. Exercise sweat feels completely different. Every summer I dreaded it all.

Until this summer. Until I forced myself to swing in a hammock and slow down.

This summer I decided to take on a container garden. I started too late for vegetables so I went all in on flowers and herbs. Zinnias, calendula, basil, rosemary, lavender, mint.

I loved the creative side — picking what pot each one would call home. I loved the grounding of packing the soil and repotting them for the summer. And I was nourished by my morning ritual of checking in on the plants as if they were my children. Watering them. Getting to know their personalities and their needs.

One morning I opened the back door without a plan. Just wanting to check in on the plants the way I do most mornings now. I noticed changes from the day before — a new bloom, a leaf that needed attention. And without deciding to, I started deadheading the flowers. Cutting and picking with real intention. I was present in this moment. Just me and the garden and the humid summer air I’ve always hated.

I caught myself smiling.

A Stanford University study found that people who spent time in nature showed measurably less activity in the region of the brain linked to rumination and depression — compared to those who walked in urban settings. They call it Attention Restoration Theory. The idea is simple: nature gives your directed, focused attention a rest. It clears mental fatigue. It lets your brain reset.

What the study doesn’t specify is how you access nature. It doesn’t say you have to climb the face of a mountain or camp in the backcountry or love the heat. It just says nature. Your brain doesn’t know the difference between a summit and a container garden. It just knows it’s home.

I spent years thinking I wasn’t an outdoor person in summer. Turns out I was just doing the wrong version of summer for my body.

The hammock taught me to slow down. The garden taught me to show up without an agenda. The pollinators — the bees buzzing around the lavender, the butterflies landing on the zinnias — taught me that nature doesn’t need me to perform for it. It just needs me to be present.

Outside isn’t one thing. Your body gets a vote. Finding your version of nature isn’t settling — it’s wisdom.

So let me ask you: what version of outside have you been told doesn’t count?

A balcony with a pot of herbs. A park bench with your face turned toward the sun. A garden hose and fifteen minutes before the day starts.

It counts. Your version counts.

Today’s episode is different. We’re not just talking about what’s happening to our public lands — we’re doing something about it.

I sat down with Fitz Cahall — host of the Dirtbag Diaries podcast — to launch Save Public Lands, a five-week initiative to gather one million signatures before National Public Lands Day on September 26th. Those signatures go directly to Congress and state houses. In person. On a dolly if they have to.

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

Sign it at savepubliclands.us. Four fields. Thirty seconds. Then share it with five people.

I signed it. The easiest thing I’ve done all week. And as Fitz said — if we care about these places, this is the moment to say so.

🎙️ Listen to Episode 81

See you in the parks, Missy

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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A bridge was six inches too narrow. Not because it was hard to fix — because no one had thought about it.

Greg Durso has been paralyzed from the chest down since a sledding accident in 2009. He's an athlete, an adventurer, and the Senior Program Ambassador of the Kelly Brush Foundation. Berne Broudy is a journalist and the co-director and producer of Best Day Ever — a new documentary film about what happens when a community decides the outdoors should genuinely belong to everyone.

They met on a group bike ride in Vermont when the group kept having to stop — not because of difficult terrain, but because the bridges were too narrow for Greg's adaptive bike. Two years later, they had built the first fully adaptive mountain bike trail network in the world.

In this episode: — Greg's injury, his return to the outdoors, and why the barrier to adaptive recreation goes far beyond equipment — The six-inch bridge that started everything — How a six-person volunteer board built the world's first fully adaptive mountain bike trail network — from scratch, with pink spray paint — What "adaptive friendly" actually means — and why checking a box isn't enough — The difference between ADA access and equal experience — The Kelly Brush Foundation's Adaptive Rec Hub — a free online resource for anyone with a physical disability — Over 180 miles of mapped adaptive-friendly trails in Vermont — and how to get there nationally — How to watch Best Day Ever and how to host a screening in your community — What the biggest barrier to inclusive recreation actually is (Berne's answer will surprise you)

Watch the film: bestdayever.mov Adaptive Rec Hub: kellybrushfoundation.org/adaptive-rec-hub How to Build Adaptive Trails (free YouTube series): search "How to Build Adaptive Trails"

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A UNESCO World Heritage Site. Over a thousand years of ancestral Pueblo history. Sacred tribal land protected through years of advocacy and 150 days of public comment. And the Department of Interior wants to revoke its last line of protection in 14 days.

Maude Dinan, New Mexico Program Manager with the National Parks Conservation Association, joins The Parks Podcast for an urgent conversation about the proposed revocation of the 10-mile buffer zone around Chaco Culture National Historical Park — and what it would mean for 300,000 acres of public land, 12,000 estimated cultural sites, and some of the most celebrated dark skies in the world.

In this episode: — What Chaco Culture National Historical Park is and why it's a UNESCO World Heritage Site — What the 10-mile protection zone is and why it exists — How revoking the buffer would impact the park — air quality, erosion, dark skies, and sacred views — Why 90% of federal land in the region is already leased — and why they want more — The Wilderness Society report: half of all leased federal land isn't even actively producing — How a protection that took 150 days of public comment could be undone in 14 — What you can do right now — before July 29th

⚠️ Take action before July 29th: Quick comment: npca.org/chaco Write your own: find the "Participate Now" button at the official BLM project page (link in show notes) Follow @NPCA for the latest updates

Related: Episode 75 — Bears Ears and Grand Staircase: What Just Happened

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I woke up last Monday to a wave of park news.

Big Bend’s final push for public comments. An executive order to remove millions of acres from Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante. Triumphal Arch public comment opening. Chaco Culture National Historical Park opened for drilling.

On first scroll, it felt like way too much. I was overwhelmed. I saw glimpses of helplessness.

And then I started to laugh.

They don’t know who they are dealing with.

Americans love the parks. Not a color-coded majority — a unifying force. The kind that mobilizes to defend what gives us clean air, open space, cultural memory, and the freedom to wander. This is not a niche issue. This is everyone’s backyard.

I shifted from overwhelmed to resolved faster than I expected. Because I’ve watched the outdoor industry unite around this — around messaging, around roles, around the understanding that we divide and conquer. We use our individual gifts to push the issue forward together.

For me, that means hosting conversations. Helping people understand what’s at stake, why it’s wrong, and what they can actually do. Getting the word out. Converting helplessness into something useful.

Submit a public comment. Share a post from an organization doing the work. Visit a park this summer and tell someone why it matters. Call your representative. Donate to a land trust. Show up however your gifts allow — because this movement needs all of it.

I’ve spent this summer dedicated to 30 minutes a day in a hammock. My Hammock Summer — a practice in rest, presence, and joy. What I didn’t realize until this week is how deeply aligned resting and activating actually are.

We rest so we can show up. We spend time in nature so we remember what we’re fighting for. We activate so that the spaces that care for us will still be there — to rest in, to return to, to pass on.

Doing something doesn’t have to be enormous. It just has to be something. Because action is where helplessness starts to become hope.

The parks need us right now. And we need them.

Take Action

Public comments and actions closing July 30 — every voice counts.

🏛️ Triumphal Arch — Submit your public comment · Listen to the episode

⛏️ Chaco Culture National Historical Park — Submit your public comment via Sierra Club

Send letters to your representatives

🏔️ Bears Ears & Grand Staircase-Escalante — Send a letter via Monuments for All · Listen to the episode with The Conservation Alliance · Listen to the episode

Organizations doing the work

The Conservation Alliance · Sierra Club · Trust for Public Land · Monuments for All

July 22nd is National Hammock Day — and if you've been following My Hammock Summer, you already know exactly how to celebrate.

This episode was originally released as Episode 33. I'm bringing it back because it's better now than it was then — not because anything changed about the conversation, but because everything changed about how I understand it. Anna Rawlins, Chief Marketing Officer at ENO, described from the outside what I now know from the inside: that a hammock isn't just a product. It's an invitation to slow down.

In this episode: — ENO's origin story: two brothers, a van, music festivals, 1999 — and the first knotless hammock suspension system — Hammock stats: Apollo 12, the Swiss sleep study, a $1.45 billion industry, and a 500-foot hammock in Moab — How to hang a hammock safely — the 18-inch rule, tree diameter, Leave No Trace, and why Joshua Tree doesn't allow them — Four ways to hammock: camping sleep system, at home, in a park, and as everyday backyard furniture — The under quilt — why you need it for sleeping below 60°F — ENO and Asheville: an update on Hurricane Helene recovery and how to support the community — National Hammock Day celebrations, contests, and how ENO marks July 22nd every year

Originally released as Episode 33. Relaunched for National Hammock Day 2026 with a new introduction.

Links mentioned: — ENO: eaglesnestoutfittersinc.com — My Hammock Summer: catchyourselfsmiling.com — Visit Asheville: exploreasheville.com — Leave No Trace: lnt.org

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On July 13th, President Trump signed two proclamations rolling back nearly 90% of the protected boundaries of Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monuments — three million acres of public land opened to potential drilling, mining, and extraction. The Bears Ears Commission, an intertribal coalition, has been disbanded.

Katie Johnson, Campaigns and Engagement Manager at the Conservation Alliance, joins The Parks Podcast for an urgent conversation on what just happened, what the proclamations actually say, and what you can do right now.

In this episode: — What the proclamations actually do: boundaries, acreage, and what 90% rollback means on the ground — The Bears Ears Commission: what it was and why its disbanding matters for tribal nations — What the White House says vs. what Utah voters actually want (91% of Western voters want monuments preserved) — The false narrative: recreational use, hunting, and fishing were already allowed under monument designation — The wilderness study area catch-22: the proposed safeguard that is also under attack — What you can do right now: Monuments for All letter, contacting your representatives, and the Conservation Alliance business sign-on — Why the $1.3 trillion outdoor recreation economy gives businesses an outsized voice with this administration — What this signals for other public lands designations across the country

Take action now: — Fill out the Monuments for All letter: monumentsforall.com — Contact your representative: congress.gov/members/find-your-member — Businesses: join the Conservation Alliance sign-on at conservationalliance.com

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I’m recording a full episode right now on what this actually means for the parks as a whole. It drops tomorrow morning.

Watch above, and subscribe to The Parks Podcast so you don’t miss it.

Follow the journey. 🌲
— Missy

The mud swallowed my river shoes and surrounded my toes. Mom was the last one in — and as her tube caught the current and she floated toward the rest of the family, I felt something leave my body.

I got in my tube. With freedom and play on my mind.

It had taken several weeks to get to this moment.

I had been planning a day on the James River for the family gathering. I charted our course, bought the tubes, even checked with the rangers early Monday morning to make sure the river would be high enough for floating. When we got to Powhatan State Park we staged vehicles, topped off air in the tubes, and then it was time to head to the water.

I hopped in the river and helped everyone in, one by one. Mom was the seventh person into a tube and off they went.

Looking out at the water, my family staggered into the river in the order they’d gotten in. Some were already scheming how to attach together. My nephew was scheming how to swim instead.

The birds were singing. The fish were swimming around my legs. The sun danced off the water. And joy filled my heart.

But that joy wasn’t about the plan coming together. It was about something I’ve been learning slowly for years.

I started my career planning events. I never thought of it as planning — I always considered it memory making. Setting the stage for people to create meaningful moments that would be told and retold for years to come. It was my approach at the Capitals, Texans, Wizards, and Mystics. At player appearances and promotions. With friends and family. If I’m honest, it goes back further than my career — I remember doing this as a child too. I love to bring people together.

It wasn’t until I started working in the well-being space that I realized what I was actually doing. I was creating the container. The memories were never mine to make — they belonged to the people inside the container. That realization didn’t change my approach or my commitment. It changed my relationship with the moments.

And somewhere on the James River on a hot July 6th, I felt that shift in my body.

As my family set out on the river I hopped into my tube and played.

Something about water and inner tubes screams freedom. Letting my hand graze along the cool water. Flopping my feet around like a child in a chair that’s a little too big. Hopping out of the tube and feeling the river slide along my body as I glided through it.

This was freedom. This was play. This was joy.

In the moments where I floated alone, the sound of family laughter and the big splash from my youngest nephew brought a smile to my face. Not because I had pulled it off. Because for the first time in a long time, I had shown up as more than the planner. I had shown up as myself.

Here’s what two hours on the James River reminded me:

You can spend a lifetime creating beautiful experiences for the people you love. That’s a gift. But the container only works if you’re willing to get inside it too.

When did you last stop running the event and just show up as a guest in your own life?

The Department of Interior issued a memo restricting parks from confirming injuries or deaths on-site. (link to John Goodwin’s article )

Big Bend National Park has a proposed border wall on the table, and the public comment period is open now — email bigbendcomment@cbp.dhs.gov to weigh in.

And in Utah, Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante are under threat again. (learn more here)

Watch the full rundown above.

Follow the journey. 🌲

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Summer vacation too expensive? Too complicated? Too late to plan? Missy and Shannon Jones of KeeKee's Big Adventures are here to debunk all of it.

Parks — national, state, and local — are the most affordable, flexible, and genuinely fun summer vacation option out there. You don't need a six-month plan. You don't need a tent. You just need to take the first step.

In this episode: — 

• Why 89% of parents say they're traveling this summer no matter what — and how to do it without breaking the bank 

• The real barrier to park vacations (hint: it's not money, it's not knowing how easy it actually is) 

• Why kids don't get bored in nature — they build forts, discover roly-polies, and catch fireflies 

• How to work the reservation system: weekdays, off-season, Airbnbs just outside the gate, last-minute site releases 

• KeeKee's Park Activity Suggester — the fortune teller / cootie catcher that picks your next outdoor adventure 

• What My Hammock Summer is — and why Shannon's husband Paul is already in his 

Links mentioned: 

• KeeKee's Big Adventures: keekeesbigadventures.com

• My Hammock Summer: catchyourselfsmiling.com 

• Find a park: nps.gov/findapark or stateparks.org

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Everything you learn outside follows you home. The resilience to own a mistake in front of your team. The ability to sit with discomfort without shutting down. The capacity to notice something beautiful you've walked past a hundred times.

Jesse Tubb, founder of GRIT Adventures and former active duty Army officer, joins The Parks Podcast to talk about what nature actually teaches us — and how the lessons from playing outside translate directly into the rest of life. He works with youth, veterans, grieving military families, sports teams, and corporations — using adventure racing and mindfulness-based resilience skills to help people build confidence, regulate emotions, and reconnect with themselves through the outdoors.

In this episode:
— What GRIT Adventures is and how it started during the pandemic
— Why our devices are the biggest barrier keeping people from going outside
— The somatic experience of getting lost in the woods — and why it's actually valuable
— The eating meditation Jesse does with kids in detention centers that reframes what it means to be connected to the earth
— Why we over-parent in the real world and under-parent in the digital world — and what it costs kids
— The healing power of communal outdoor experiences for veterans and military families
— The 5% problem — why outdoor marketing targets extreme athletes when 95% of users just want to take a walk
— Micro adventures — how to start with 10% outside your comfort zone
— Creeking — and why it might be the perfect entry point for anyone

Resources mentioned:
— GRIT Adventures: gritadventures.com
— TAPS: taps.org
— Wounded Warrior Project Odyssey: woundedwarriorproject.org
— The Anxious Generation by Jonathan Haidt: anxiousgeneration.com
— Jesse's eating meditation: https://youtu.be/-uVj0Zqhb_k?si=iKu5g76F8ogldpDb

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I sat down to write about the steps of finding joy, and was immediately stuck. From a text book standpoint, I can rattle off a healthy list of ideas that will help you connect with it. But I want to make it relatable because I’ve done it. Instead, I was slapped in the face that I’m creating a platform to help people find their joy, but I haven’t done it in a long time.

Sure, I have my moments, but have I really done it? Biked carelessly down a trail, stopping for an ice cream cone or sat with friends laughing over everything and nothing at the same time? The answer is simple. No. I have been caught up in the to do list of life, too.

After several attempts at writing, lots of frustration building in me, I realized that I needed to give myself permission to put down the to do list, be late on a deadline, and go off of the schedule. I needed to set aside all of the shoulds and go live.

With the laptop closed, and permission to play, I hopped on my scooter and went to the pool. I downloaded a good beach read kind of book and floated. Letting the gentle rocking and floating relax my body and mind. It was working.

The next morning I talked with a dear friend on the phone, even before I got out of bed. An hour catch-up and laughter had immediate impact. Then I went to our local garden center. I had an empty pot on the back porch and very little makes me happier than daisies, so I planted some to look at all summer long. And the last stop on my reconnection tour was my storage unit to pick up my kayak. I want to introduce Tootsie (my golden-doodle) to the river this weekend.

As I was driving around, running fairly simple errands, I caught myself smiling. I had opened up space for the feelings and I was intentionally reconnecting with things that historically bring me joy.

That’s the thing about joy — it doesn’t require a grand gesture. It just requires showing up for the small ones. And I’ve been doing this long enough to know which small ones work for me.

I’ve been doing this work for more than ten years. And when I get in the sticky spots, I tend to go back to some tried and true rituals.

First, I give myself permission to find joy and be happy. We sometimes have to say it out loud and give our brain and body permission to search for those feelings.

Second, I thought back to other times in my life when I found joy. What was I doing? Who was I with? How did it feel?

A few weeks ago I told you about the big wheel. Well that’s now a bike or electric scooter for me. I also remember how much fun I had swimming, playing in the dirt, losing myself in a funny book, and looking at daisies. It’s just a few items on my list, but I could quickly replicate versions of those memories to help lead me back to joyful moments.

What’s your version of the daisies? Write it down. That’s where your list begins.