National Parks Traveler Podcast · Kurt Repanshek

National Parks Traveler Podcast | Historic Preservation in the Parks

·39 min·2 clips

Pam Bolling says deferred maintenance has shuttered places like the Oregon Caves Chateau and Gettysburg’s David Wills House.

1. National Parks Traveler’s “Historic Preservation in the Parks” centers on the condition of historic structures across the National Park System. 2. Kurt Repencheck hosts the episode, and Pam Bolling appears as Senior Director of Government Relations at the National Trust for Historic Preservation. 3. The episode asks how the Park Service can preserve thousands of historic buildings when deferred maintenance, staffing, and funding all compete for attention. 4. Repencheck opens with Roy Feuer’s log cabin in present-day Katmai National Park and Preserve in Alaska as a surviving example of careful restoration. 5. He then cites the Oregon Caves Chateau in Oregon, the First Baptist Church at Nicodemus National Historic Site in Kansas, and the David Wills House at Gettysburg National Military Park in Pennsylvania as places currently closed or strained. 6. Bolling says deferred maintenance has shuttered buildings and limited public access, especially where rehabilitation dollars are scarce. 7. She notes that the National Trust listed the Oregon Caves Chateau as one of the 11 most endangered historic places in May. 8. Bolling describes the Chateau as a National Historic Landmark with an indoor stream through the main dining room and the most extensive public collection of Monterey furniture. 9. She says the structure is part of National Park Service “rustic parkitecture,” using local stone and wood. 10. Repencheck and Bolling also discuss other park assets, including Mesa Verde adobe structures, Hot Springs bathhouses, and military infrastructure connected to the Manhattan Project. 11. Bolling says the Park Service can use historic leasing as a solution for some buildings with alternate uses. 12. She points to Hot Springs as a case where bathhouses became a brewery, a spa, and a luxury hotel. 13. Bolling says the Great American Outdoors Act brought a major infusion of repair money, but the maintenance backlog still remains large. 14. She says the New America the Beautiful Act has 33 Senate co-sponsors, including 16 Republicans, 16 Democrats, and one independent. 15. Bolling says the proposal would extend the Great American Outdoors Act fund at $2 billion a year for eight years. 16. She explains that the National Trust’s 11 most endangered historic places list has been published since 1988 and has produced only a handful of losses. 17. The conversation stays interview-based and practical, with Repencheck pressing on funding, stewardship, and the Park Service’s scoring of projects. 18. Bolling answers in a measured, policy-focused tone and returns repeatedly to preservation tools, training, and partnerships. 19. Listeners interested in park history, preservation policy, and federal funding priorities. 20. Listeners looking for hiking tips or wildlife coverage.

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