Segment 704

Maintaining America’s national parks

State(s) featured in this episode: Arizona/ California/ New Mexico/ Pennsylvania/ Washington D.C.

From recent episodes of THIS AMERICAN LAND, these brief summaries of stories highlight major repair and maintenance issues affecting America’s national parks.

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Segment 904

California’s largest lake is shrinking and migratory birds are disappearing as its water is now too salty for fish — an environmental disaster and a health hazard for humans.

State(s) featured in this episode: California
Segment 805

Where the Colorado River approaches the Sea of Cortez, conservationists re-plant forests and promote wildlife habitat to revive the Delta after decades of neglect and desertification.

State(s) featured in this episode: Arizona /  New Mexico
Segment 802

To protect one of Arizona’s last perennially flowing rivers, smart stewardship minimizes irrigation and clears invasive plants.

State(s) featured in this episode: Arizona
Segment 904

Landowners in Pennsylvania are managing their forests to provide better habitat for declining species of songbirds like the golden-winged warbler.

State(s) featured in this episode: Pennsylvania
Segment 703

Landowners in Pennsylvania work with government support to provide critical forest habitat for threatened bat species.

State(s) featured in this episode: Pennsylvania
Segment 805

Where the Colorado River approaches the Sea of Cortez, a new agreement between the U.S. and Mexico shares the river’s water during times of drought and surplus and dedicates water to the environment, restoring flows and habitat along the river and at the Delta. Conservationists are working hard to re-plant forests and promote wildlife habitat to revive the Delta after years of neglect and desertification. On the leading edge of agricultural technology, young farmers are using data to minimize costs, improve yield and increase profits; a fourth-generation farmer in Illinois shows how it’s done.

State(s) featured in this episode: Arizona /  California
Segment 802

To protect one of Arizona’s last perennially flowing rivers, conservationists practice smart stewardship to minimize irrigation and clear invasive plants. Taking advantage of open areas in crowded cities, urban farmers are growing healthy foods and making profits. Studying iconic sandstone arches in the Southwest, researchers learn how these formations vibrate and gather data to help understand their architectural health.

State(s) featured in this episode: Arizona /  Utah
Segment 801

Commercial fishermen in the Gulf of Mexico are now using individual fishing quotas to manage their catches of red snapper, a fish population that has made a remarkable recovery after years of overfishing. With federal government support, landowners in Pennsylvania are managing their forests for diversity, providing better habitat for declining species of songbirds like the golden-winged warbler. In Georgia, a program on Lake Lanier for school kids teaches them the importance of water quality.

State(s) featured in this episode: Georgia /  Louisiana /  Pennsylvania
Segment 704

Rafting and fishing in the Rio Grande Del Norte National Monument, curious journalists learn the truth about monuments that protect national treasures and a wide range of public uses.

State(s) featured in this episode: New Mexico