Happy pride and welcome to the landscape your
show about America's parks and public lands. I'm
Erin Weiss with the center for Western priorities
in Denver,
and I'm Kate G in Salt Lake City.
About Well, summer is officially here. It's been
scorching hot lately Lee angela July fourth is
around the corner, but it is still June,
and we've got a great conversation about
Lgbtq in station in national parks lined up
in honor of pride month. But before we
get into that, let's do the news.
On Monday, the Us Supreme Court announced... That
it will review a lower court's ruling that
blocked the ui basin railway. That is the
so called oil train that's intended to connect
that oil fields in Eastern Utah to the
national rail system, which would let that oil
be more easily transported to refineries, the idea
behind
this train for the oil industry is that
it would make it a whole lot cheaper
to develop that oil in Utah.
If it was to move forward,
the train would more than double the total
amount of oil transported in the Us via
rail as of 22.
It would result in a tenfold
increase of hazardous material transport through sensitive areas,
especially along the Colorado River in Western Colorado.
Now the supreme court is interested in this
case because it involves the question of how
broad federal agency environmental
reviews can and should be. In this case,
the rejection came from the the
transportation board that was reviewing this, which
does not
on the face of it have environmental duties
as part of its responsibility.
So we're gonna be following this case very
closely, of course, when it is argued during
the next Supreme court session, and of course,
we'll bring you updates.
Our guest today is doctor Hit Tal, creator
of the gaze of National Parks Instagram account,
which is aimed at fo drink community among
Lgbtq people through a love of the outdoors.
Hit. Thank you so much for being here
today.
Thanks for having me.
So let's start at the beginning. What led
you to create the gaze of National Parks
Instagram account? You know,
it was all a joke.
If you would have told me you know,
a year and a half or 2 years
ago that be running an instagram account, I
would...
Totally think that you were crazy.
But I've gone hiking with a bunch of
buddies up in Aca National Park,
you know, we we're... We've been friends in
school,
you know, we're all doctors now, and they
though are straight white, you know, straight white
males.
And
we were talking about life, but as we
were hiking and, you know, sharing what's going
on,
I didn't really have much to add because
they were talking about getting their kids into
certain school districts, Na and so forth, and
they asked me. They said,
Why are you so quiet? And I said,
in that very moment, I realized, you know,
our lives were diver. I think about very
different things.
And they asked me they said, well, what
do you think about? And
I said, well, you know, I think about
building community these days?
I'm late to the gay game, and I
think about, you know, as I get older,
who are gonna be my everyday people.
And, you know, they said, well, hey, you
always have us, and I said to them.
They do, but it's not the same. Right?
I
you know, just to call someone and say,
hey, Like, what are you doing today? Or
hey, You wanna grab a meal or whatever?
And
you know, they're pretty surprised that that's you
know, what was going through my head because
I tend to be a extreme ex. I
tend to have a lot of people around
me all the time,
friends and so forth,
And so they joked around with me and
they said,
well, attached, what are you gonna do about
it? And
so as a joke, I
I came home and I created this, you
know,
Instagram account to send to them as a
joke to say,
I'm taking into my own hands. I'm gonna
meet boys like me.
And
it started out as a way
for me to meet boys. And
you know,
it was a joke. Like, who's gonna ever
join an this Instagram an account called gaze
of National parks
and I said to them, I said to
them if 1 or 2
people are actually real and say, like, a
hundred people join this account, and I get
to go on a hiking date with them
or get to even make friends, that's a
2 percent conversion rate, and that's a win.
And we laughed about this. Right? But
since then, I think this has taken a
life of its own. It sparked a lot
of joy, and
it's just becomes something that I never thought
it would become. So describe what the account
is now, what what kind of posts are
on there and and what do you look
for when you're finding finding content to put
up? Yeah.
So once again, remember, it was a joke.
When I started it,
it really didn't have... A thoughtful purpose. Right?
And
it was, you know, it was a... If
at best, it was gonna be something where,
you know, I could meet guys like me.
But,
you know, all of a sudden, the story
started rolling in. And when they started rolling
in,
it became very evident that people were writing
in with a lot of trust, a lot
of love, a lot of heart, a lot
of hope.
Right? What they were
what they were writing in was
like, genuine
feelings about how nature was, impacting their lives,
they're were talking about the trial and tribulation.
They were overcoming,
by finding peace in nature,
you know, relationships they had built, you know,
love stories, and
all of a sudden it became more than
just, you know, some guy running an account,
Right? Hoping to me boys. It was
oh, wow. Like, there is a lot of
good here, and how do you, you know,
highlight that good?
And so,
you know, over time the purpose of the
account change,
for me at least. Right?
And the goal was to just keep telling
me stories of, every walk of Lgbtq and,
you know, how people are living their lives.
If you look at a lot of
Lgbtq organizations,
rightfully so.
They have
had to spend time on
fighting for
Lgbtq rights or
Lgbtq people living their best life.
But to some degree, our community is getting
there,
and
we need to tell the stories of how
people are living. And we have to tell
the stories of how to live.
And so, you know,
life isn't always rosy. Until we have stories
of people overcoming drug abuse. We have people
overcoming, you know,
very tough situations, but we also have people
who are building families. And
you know, essentially, it's using
nature as a backdrop to tell the stories
of people.
And
the goal of the account is to Spark
Joy.
So
you know,
everyone who submits the story, we will highlight
it as long as it is, you know,
Instagram appropriate.
And
you know,
you know, if you ever wonder if there
is a
trans individual who wants to be a park
ranger or a gay you and diplomat or
ever wonder if, you know, someone
in meta is running vr concerts
or
the head of you know, innovation at Kaiser
permanente
or a board member from Noah or the
director of Gossip girl or the vice chair
of Arizona States depart...
Democratic party,
ever wonder if these people are gay, well,
yes, they are. And you will find them
on our... You know, there... You'll find their
stories on our on our Instagram pay. And
I think that's the beauty of it is
that they're living their best life, You know?
And
if you're an Lgbtq person out there,
age and you read these, you could say
I can't too. And I will tell you
that personally,
when I realized I was gay,
I became very lonely because I, you know,
lived a life where,
I was just like my peers, I, you
know,
I I'm a doctor. I
just did not see myself the way that
the media was portraying
Lgbtq people, which was
at the time,
troubled team's trying to come out people who
had a lot of drug abuse and, you
know, sex addiction and their families dis designing
him.
And I did not wanna be gay like
that, and I became very lonely. Fortunately,
I was a member of the Harvard community,
and you know, when people finally me learned
I was gay, they were, like,
are you kidding? Like, you know, so and
so department chair is gay. And, you know,
the head of Hillary Clinton's campaign is gay.
You wanna meet him? And, you know, before
you knew it, I was meeting
the who's who of Lgbtq people.
And I was like, oh,
I can be gay like them.
But what happens if you are a teenager
in Oklahoma or in Minnesota or somewhere rural
or, you know, there's no 1 in your
family who identify as Lgbtq. Well,
you know, if you reach this account, you
can meet you can see all these people
from every walk of life, and they're only
1 instagram message away, and I think that's
the beauty of it.
So I feel like we've sort of
danced around this issue, but on your website,
which you do have a website for the
account.
You talk about the loneliness epidemic specifically in
the gay community. Can you give us some
stats on that and tell us about how
the account is... Sort of combating it?
Yeah.
So,
first of all, the loneliness epidemic is ubiquitous.
It's... You know, everyone's experiencing it around the
world. But according to the Us surgeon in
general,
you know,
Lgbtq people are at the, you know, top
of the heap,
you know, along with elderly immigrants and teams.
And a lot of Lgbtq people as they
age are, you know, found alone in their
homes, you know,
at the end of life.
And so
the goal here, right, is once again,
to tell stories of people that you that
you can identify with. And
1 of the other stats that we know
is nature can help convert loneliness to sol.
Mh. And so 1 of the things that
we've done is that
there's 2 things that are happening help first,
people are posting their stories
and what we are learning on the back
end. Right? Because you don't see everything that's
happening on the back end of the account.
We are bombarded with thank you notes. Thank
you so much because of, you know, you
posted my story. I actually had someone reach
out.
Who, you know, is 2 hours away from
me, and I've actually now made, you know,
some gay friends in the area.
Or we hear
you posted my story, and I told my
story of being a mormon man who have
to come out and 5 other mormons have
reached out to me. And, you know, we've
been talking about the process of how to
come out and still be true to our
beliefs. Right?
And so on the back end, we've heard
things like,
this account has probably been the most impactful
Instagram or social media account. I've ever earn
encountered in my life. Wow.
And if you read the stories,
they are very raw in genuine.
And I think that's what people are talking
about and, like, appreciating.
And we cover topics like,
Ce,
you know, having to deal with, you know,
coming out with, you know, religious families,
you know, open relationships,
you know, being gay in rural areas. So
these are the things that people are identifying
with.
The second thing that's happening is that,
You know, we are also
actually holding events and getting people together in
the outdoors.
So we hold sometimes day events where people
come, 1 of them that we had, people
showed up about, yeah. 30 to 40 people
showed up, they stayed from, you know, 10AM
to 5PM,
right, where we hiked and then grabbed lunch,
lunch lasted from literally noon to 5 because
everyone was, you know, meeting each other and
talking.
We've held
you know, actual week long
camping
you know, camping events where people have come
from age 25 to 54. They've ranged from
people who work in events all the way
to the
head of innovation for Kaiser. Right? Every race
every soc economic background, and they have come
from
Germany, Hong Kong, London, Scotland, and they have
flown in just to spend time with us.
Wow. And as they are leaving,
you know, you can see, like, some of
them start tearing up, because they say,
you know, in the everyday, hustle and Bustle,
it's like, it's very difficult to sometimes connect
with people.
And
I think the best part about it is
that once the trip ends you think, well,
is that gonna be it.
But as you follow them on Instagram, you
see that all of a sudden the person
from Berlin is, you know, visiting the guy
from San Francisco.
And, you know, they're actually meeting up later
on and, you know, exchanging the contacts for
work or helping each other, you know, get
interviews and
it's actually very beautiful.
So what is it about
national parks then and and public land? What
why does this become the connector?
For for this new
2 lgbtq community that has... That has formed
around an Instagram account of all things. Right.
Well,
I think that there's a lot of other
factors happening in culture today
that, you know,
lead to this. And those things in culture
are happening
you know, throughout our throughout society, not just
the Lgbt lgbtq community,
So if you look at the data,
you know, more and more Americans,
especially millennials and Gen z are drinking less.
And
there's less alcohol consumption. Right?
So combine that with the fact that,
over the last 10 years,
Lgbtq spaces have been diminishing. So there's not
as many, you know, places where people can
go and, like, have a space for being
Lgbtq.
And additionally, people are getting healthier. They want
to be, you know,
they want to be more active
And then after the pandemic, people have just
embraced the outdoors. I mean, we know the
spike in getting outside.
So
if you combine all those things together, it's
not it's no different from the Lgbtq community.
And what's also interesting is that
public lands are ubiquitous there everywhere. So you
have national parks, but you also have fish
and wildlife life,
you know, reserves and so forth.
And
what is actually happening is that you're seeing
people saying, well, you know, yes, I enjoy
going to a gay bar.
But is there anything else? Is there anything
else that we can do?
You know, how do... How else can we
build community?
And
you don't you don't
nature just exists,
and
therefore,
so can we because we are a part
of nature.
And so to go
into efficient wildlife
you know,
reserve or a national park. And
just be with people who understand, you know,
who you are,
and because these lands are ubiquitous,
I think that it just serves as a,
you know, a place for people to meet
regardless of where they are.
And
it had... It it it lowers guards and
allows people to bond, and I think that's
what's really taken off. And
you know,
it it is you know, what you also
see is what you see on the account.
On the back end, though,
we get a lot of messages saying,
I don't know if I belong in a
international park.
You know, I don't know where to sleep
or where to eat because I don't pass
as straight,
and I'm afraid.
And all of a sudden, you know, you
have a group that's going, and you want
to explore something different.
And
because the group is going you go, and
all of a sudden, you know, you feel
like a bond to them. And you're like,
oh, wow, Like, I can do this. I
feel safer here. And
think all those things combined have,
made going into nature with groups of Lgbtq
people very special and allows them to connect.
And so... Mh.
That's why. I guess, I hope that answers
that question.
Yeah. III think
a follow to there
that
to the extent that
representation and visibility and creating this openness
matters,
I I want your thoughts on representation in
park
leadership and
visibility of queer communities.
Among
among park rangers
among National park services
leadership,
and how can the park service continue to
make our parks
more welcoming.
Okay. Poof, if there's a lot there.
Alright.
So
The first thing is is let's just start
with
you know, some stats that
I think will be helpful in guiding
maybe even more questions.
But first of all, today,
20 percent of Gen z is identifying
Lgbtq.
But and
20 percent of the workforce is Gen z.
So that means 20 percent of the Us
dollar
Right? Is Gen z.
And 20 percent of that Us dollar is
identifying
Lgbtq.
And let me tell you something. That is
only going to be growing.
Okay?
And so
it is and,
the national Park service, although they seem a
spike in utilization,
77 percent of their attendees currently are
Caucasian.
K. They're they're white. But we know that
by the year 20 30,
and I think that's right. To the 20
30 or 20 35.
Most of Americans will no longer...
The majority will no longer be white.
So
the national Park service should probably be thinking
and not even National Parts. The Department of
Interior Should really be thinking,
how are we going to capture the hearts
and minds of
the next generation?
And it's because those hearts and minds actually
do provide revenue as they come through the
parks, and, you know, you wanna be able
to
sustain and grow your
patron niche.
And
so
I think first of all, that's an important
thing to consider
And,
you know, I think right there gives park
leadership an incentive to think how are we
more inclusive than less inclusive?
Then going from there,
I've just told you that 20 percent of
the working population is identifying, you know, Gen
is Gen z and 20 of Them are
at Lgbtq. The Department of Interior and the
National Park Service actually are 1 of the
largest branches of government. I think they had
like a hundred thousand employees or something. It's
it's very large.
I mean,
we do realize that their employees are identifying
Lgbtq. Right?
So,
And on the back end, we are seeing
messages roll in. And what's fascinating is that
depending on the region that you are in.
You are either more comfortable or less comfortable
identifying with your identity within the Department of
interior as employees. Right?
And so
if the Department of Interior is thinking about,
you know,
employee retention and attraction. Right? They should be
thinking about how to make it
a non issue, right, to be your authentic
self within the Department of interior.
And 1 of the ways to do that
is also to elevate people and have representation.
And so
now look, like, there are people very know,
senior in the National Park service who are,
you know, who are gay.
But
you you know, it's really, like, regionally, they
should be thinking of diversity as well.
And
you know,
in terms of,
you know, leadership goes,
there's,
there is the park service itself and, you
know,
making it very clear that
you know, people are
welcomed that people can be their authentic self
and get promoted. That's important.
But then you also have
the
nonprofit
that fund the parks.
And
You know, every park has... I think government
designated
profits that actually help provide funding for the
parts of themselves. So for... Note known broadly
as the Friends groups. Correct. Right? So, like,
for Zion, it's Zion forever for Yosemite Yosemite
funding And
all of these organizations have board members.
And
you know, Nasdaq
recently
has a
you know, has has recently released board diversity
requirements.
And if publicly traded companies on the Nasdaq
have,
put out rules for board diversity,
and
it's
time that the National Park service and the
government requires board diversity in these french groups.
A lot of these board seats are un
filled they are
you know, they're looking for people to join.
But
it has actually been surprising to see the
push back on
diversifying the board, and it should not just
be
Lgbtq people, should be women. It should be
people of color. It should be, you know,
people who represent the American
population who are attending these attending these parks.
It And once you have that diversity,
you know, in the board level,
and people who are
Lgbtq sitting at the seat, Right?
You will see change. There is no doubt.
Right? And let's actually look at some of
the parks that have
Lgbtq leadership.
For example,
Yosemite, for example, Golden gate recreational area. Right?
You see the attendees are very diverse. You
see that the attendees are G lgbtq. And
so
I think it's important to
for the national Park service
to realize
is that
more and more people are identifying this way
for retention of employees
and
comfort level,
you know, of just
the nature of their work environment,
they need to be thinking about this and
putting people into positions and elevating so that
it's very clear that you can be who
you are, and,
you know, have a career with a national
work service.
Then on
the friends group side, Right? There should be
poor diversity. And once you have that, you'll
see changes coming down the pipeline,
that say, hey, you're welcomed.
And I think with the changing demographics of
the country, just economically that is uber important,
especially because
you want to win the hearts and minds
of people
and
make them lifelong patrons of the park service.
So you mentioned board members
on these friends groups. How do you think
these groups should go about finding qualified candidates
for these positions?
That's a great question.
Well, you know, the first thing any organization
should be doing is, you know, really identifying
their needs. Right? Like, what
what skill sets are going to be making
your organization stronger.
And, you know, then looking for board members
that fit those skill sets.
You know, But when it comes to identifying,
you know,
diverse candidates,
it's actually putting the word out there.
Also working with organizations that can help identify
those candidates. So, for example,
if, you know, friends groups are looking to,
you know,
fill their board seats with people who are
Lgbtq.
Gays and national Parks can help with that.
You know, we have
members of the community who are former politicians,
people who served in the Obama administration,
you know, executives at at, you know, global
brands,
and, you know, people in our community, both
local and national
that
would, you know, add value to those boards
you know, depending on the skill sets that
the board needs. But I think that it's
a,
you know, it's a board
decision to say, hey, you know, it's time
that we
diversify and, you know, look like a board
that looks like our...
You know, patron edge. And I think that's
the first decision. But if there are friend
groups out there, they're looking to diversify their
boards, and want to
fill the seats with Lgbtq individuals, we would
love to
help them do that.
Awesome, and we'll drop contact information for your
organization in our show notes.
A quick follow for the first time ever,
America,
right now has an indigenous interior secretary in
Deb Holland, and an indigenous head of the
National Park Service in Chuck Sam.
Have you gotten to to speak with either
them
about this and and those those goals overall,
especially when it comes to the friends groups?
I not. And, I mean, if they are
listening to this, and they're open to a
discussion, I would welcome it with Grace and
Gratitude.
However,
leaders have so much on their plate.
Okay? And every person walking up to them
thinks that their issue is the greatest and
grandest. Right? Mh.
And I do think that this issue of
board diversity and
you know, sending messages.
To the general public that all are welcomed
is
crucial.
But I will say that I am
I'm am very impressed with everything that they
are trying to do. They have a lot
on their plate. And so
you know, I haven't had a chance to
talk to them. But I think that
the things that they have done in the
time that they've been in office,
you know, thank you.
But I do hope that, you know, this
is something that they pay attention to. And
you know, if you'd would like to reach
out, to us, we would welcome a conversation
with you. And I hope you are listening.
So that's obviously, there's the top down model
talk to the people in charge get your
issue on their radar. There's also the sort
of bottom up grassroots bottle, and you guys
actually threw
you helped put on Zion National Parks first
pride festival last year. Could you say a
little bit about that? How how that came
to fruition and and maybe how it's the
effect it's had in that community?
Yeah. Sure. So I was actually invited to
be the opening ken speaker for the public
lands alliance conference?
And there, I met
Zion forever new Ceo,
Natalie.
And
she is the first female Ceo of Zion
forever, and I think over a hundred... In
in a hundred years. So she's the first
1 ever.
The female Ceo
brought a very different perspective. Right? And
Saw me speak at the public lands Alliance
and came up to me and said,
I want you. I want you to come
and do this. Right? And then advocated for
it. And so you had a diverse mindset.
Coming in. Right? And saying, this is something
that we need to do.
And through her,
right, she got to the National Park service
on board
and, you know, we ended up launching
the on forever first pride.
And
I was asked to come in,
me and a couple of the guys who
run the account went, you know, went, and
we held
talks for
the general public in conjunction with the university
there. We then also did a
you know,
a talk for
those who attended pride.
And then, you know, also, like, helped with
some of this help with some of the
activities that were there,
the thing was is that, at that time,
the
the state had
band drag.
And, you know, federal
state laws don't apply on federal public lands.
And so when Zion said, hey, look, like
we're gonna hold pride,
you know, people came as their best selves,
and some people came dressed and drag.
And
you know, it was it was fascinating. The
stories they told about how
there was just 1 drag queen in particular
that I think, has left footprints on my
heart and I will never forget it.
She said that, you know, as a child,
unfortunately,
you know, she was sex traffic. And she
needed to escape that. And,
Drag was away for her to make money.
And so
she adopt a drag. Right? She started doing
it. She was paid, and she was able
to then, like, escape and etcetera, set up
her own life.
But that's just being financially free coming into
the parks, sitting in Zion, sitting next to
the rivers, sitting, you know, in sol,
as she helped her, like, you know, find
peace with what had happened.
And she told this story. Right? And you
know, she said that, you know, she now
works for the Utah government, and she
you know,
is happily married and, you know, has a
husband. And
you know, when
she is not in her drag. Right? I
mean, he is living a very healthy life.
Right? And,
and,
you know, 1 of the other things that
they said was
you know, to have Zion
National Park,
hold pride in a time where people were
feeling very,
you know,
pigeon holder in the corner,
Zion being the largest economic driver of the
region. Right? That it was
incredibly powerful and moving.
And this brings up the idea that
while national parks can, you know, or federal
public lands are actually
san for,
you know,
animals and ecosystems and, you know, different plants
and things that we are trying to protect.
The truth is is that they are also
san for humans. Right?
They bring peace. They allow you to be
yourself,
and,
you know, for the park to do that
was such an impact on these people
that, you know,
I get a lot of hugs when I
practice. Right? That is the nature of being
a doctor.
I don't get hugs. You know, randomly in
the street. Right? Because that is not my
role.
I cannot tell you
the, you amount of gratitude and the hugs
that we were getting. You know, thank you
so much for, you know, making us feel,
you know, worthy of having a day in
Zion and so forth. And so, a, I
wanna thank Zion, b, I wanna think Natalie,
Right? For having the
vision to do something different. Right? And to
set a new precedent for a,
very,
you know,
a very set in it in in their
way,
community,
but
you know, someone on that board
pushed for her to be Ceo.
And
I think those little changes
have large impacts,
And I think if anyone is listening to
this who is a member of a board,
you know, just think about that butterfly effect
and how it impacts downstream.
So speaking of drag queens using their platform
or or platform shoes
or for good.
I wanna ask about a,
that happened earlier
this month when the the park service briefly
released guidance saying that rangers...
Couldn't walk in pride parades in uniform. There
was rightfully a whole lot of outrage led
by the Drag queen Pat
who has... Is she's definitely having a moment
right now. And,
the park service
and interior secretary,
secretary Holland, quickly reversed course on that. Well,
what was your take when you saw that
happen?
So I think the first thing to ask,
which I do not know I'm not privy
to is why that decision was made. And
as General,
members of the public.
We may never know, like, the exact mindset
behind it. And you... There were definitely some
lawyers involved. Right. And there were... Like, there...
There's... There are decisions there that we do
not know.
And so the first thing I wanna know
is, like,
why before I make any, like, you know,
any comments that
are from anger or from, you know,
just not knowing. I I also have to
balance the fact that
secretary Holland and
you know, the people in the biden administration
have
actually worked really hard to the best of
their ability,
to, you know, increased diversity and inclusion in
many ways. Right?
And so all of a sudden, this decision
comes down. And it's so far off from
what has... What we have seen as a
norm. And so the question is why and
we do not know. And so
you know, don't throw the baby out with
a bath water.
Look at the whole body of work and
then look at this 1 decision.
So,
that's a big question for me. The second
thing I'm gonna say is,
in terms of pat,
and
you know, who who in their real life
is named to win.
But Pat and a number of people who
wrote in or, you know, protested,
I think it shows that
your voice matters, and people are listening. Right?
And I think it's important that if people
who are
Lgbtq see
you know, that they are being, you know,
something's wrong that your voice in America still
matters. And I think that
that reversal of a decision
just shows that, you know, you can you
can make a difference by, you know,
being heard or being seen or making your
thoughts on.
At the end of the day, though, once
again,
look at their whole body of work and
I'm very grateful. I'm very grateful They turned
it over.
But
was it maybe a poor decision,
Yes. What you know we learned from that.
We move on. Right? Thank you for reversing
it.
But to the Lgbtq community, I say,
before we jump to
you know,
being upset or angry.
There are are there are a lot of
other routes like voicing your opinion, and
not forgetting the people that have helped and
how to, like, bring them onto our side
in a way that builds community. Mh Right.
Bridge building,
speaking of bridge building, You were recently up
in Yosemite with, working on a partnership with
the Yosemite cons consultancy,
Can you tell us more about that?
Yeah.
Okay. I don't know even know where to
start. So first of all,
I hope that people who are listening from
Yosemite consultancy hear this, and I just wanna
say thank you to them from the bottom
of, you know, my heart. And
you have to realize is that on 1
level, you have the secretary saying, you know,
no
Lgbtq, you know, activities or whatever, then you
have, you know,
you know, pat, and it's, like, you know,
the advocacy part of it, and we then
have this program going. Supposed to you know,
happen and people have, like, you know, signed
up to come from all over the country
in the world.
And they're like, yeah. No. We're gonna do
this. Right? And it was a stewardship program.
And
they also agreed to help get out of
scholarship to help people come.
And, you, we get out 2 scholarships. 1
of them was to a
you know, female to male,
you know, trans individual who identifies
native American. And,
you know, all of a sudden you had
you know, 14
people of the Lgbtq community from all across
the country come to Yosemite,
you know, for, I think it was like,
4 or 5 days.
And we helped
you know, remove
invasive species, like, invasive plant species,
but, you know, we also
ate together and hike together and
shared stories around the campfire fire,
and it was remarkable just to see, like,
Once again,
every walk of life,
you know, lesbian trans gay by,
you know, every walk of Lgbtq life.
Every age,
you know, forming forming relationships. And what you
learned was
were more similar than we are different. Right?
And
yosemite was, know, yosemite consultancy was
just amazing in how they, like, you know,
gave us time to bond, but also help
the park and, you know, create a program
where,
for some of these people, it was their
first time ever coming to a national park.
And the experience that they left with was,
you know,
Might sound like a, you know, old Mastercard
commercial, but priceless.
That's so cool. Is that going to... Do
you know yet if you're gonna be able
to do that again?
I hope so. You know, I think it
depends on...
Depends on the park, depends on the availability.
It depends on, you know, what they are
allowed and not allowed to do.
But
you know, if you read our... If you
read the Instagram account, you'll see that there
are people who've already been posting about it
who are on the trip. And
their testimonials or once again, you know, just,
like,
I need
I am so fortunate that... And I went
on that hiking trip in Aca and
have gotten to do this because
It has just been
so heartwarming. And, you know... Yeah. So I
hope that you yosemite in other parks do
it too.
So so what's next for something the started
as you said as a joke, not all
that long ago. Clearly,
you've had
an outs size influence
very quickly and created
quite the community in a very short amount
of time.
Where do you take that from here?
Yeah. You know, I think about that a
lot myself.
You know,
I am a doctor, but
you know, I've also helped run large organizations,
you know, health care organizations.
And
for any organization,
really, it's
no money, no mission. Right? You have to
find a way to have sustained revenue to
be able to do good with that revenue.
So
the people who have been helping me run
this run this account,
there's many, but there are, you know, 3
or 4 guys who have just poured themselves
into it as well.
And,
we're trying to figure out, you know, ways
in which we can,
3 become a sustainable
organization where we can then give more scholarships.
Right? You can't always
hope that people are gonna donate money or
that, you know, somebody can serve will say,
yes, we'll help you fund 2 scholarships. Right?
And so that's what we're looking at. We're
looking at, you know,
potentially, he
you know, hosting trips that people
come on and, you know, which the revenue
from that goes to give out scholarships we're
looking at
you know, how to either, you know, create
some merchandise or whatever it is that we
need to do. But the goal is to
you know, be able to bring people together.
And
right now, if you wanted, you know, there
are, you know,
options to go on a gate cruise or
to actually hire somebody that will take you
to Alaska for, you know, an Lgbtq trip
that will cost you 2500 dollars.
And
that's fine. But I think the magic of
the trips that gaze of National Parks is
put together,
is that the people who are coming are
genuinely from all walks of life.
They, you know, range from
geography,
age,
soc economic background
and and so forth. And the way that
we've been able to do that is to
subsidize or sponsor the trips. And bring people
who are,
you know, coming from, you know, different parts
of the country. And so
we hope that we're... You know, that we're
able to continue doing that.
And, you know,
sparking joy,
and getting people
excited about knowing that,
hey, live your best life. Right? Like,
make friends and
I think at the very most though, or
at the very least,
this little joke
has
connected people from all around the country in
the world. And
we even have we even have a story
of
2 guys who met from across the country
because of the Instagram post.
And started dating long distance and have now
moved in, like, literally moved from the... Moved
from New York to the West Coast
you know, to be together. And so,
you know, hopefully, we continue doing that as
well.
Well, that's so awesome.
It's been great talking to you. Is there
anything else you want our listeners to know
about your account or your journey?
I am overwhelmed with gratitude.
I am so grateful to, you know, yosemite
many conservatives to the National Park Service a
public lands alliance 2,
you know, Zion
I am
overwhelmed with gratitude with all these people who
kept writing in and submitting their stories and
trusted
that we would, you know,
feature them in a way that was respectful.
And
you know,
I'm grateful to you for wanting to do
this story, And I think that
you know, if there's anyone listening
that can be helpful. I would welcome it
with grace and gratitude.
But
if there's anyone listening, you know, who is
Lgbtq,
I hope that they read these stories in
a sparks toy for them. And so,
yeah, I think that's pretty much why I
started it, and it has, you know, delivered
more than I ever thought I would.
Awesome. Well, we're grateful to you for your
time.
Our guest today was doctor Hit Tal, creator
of the gaze of National Parks Instagram account.
Thank you again so much.
Thank you.
How about a little good news to close
out the episode? Last week, the Montana Fish
and Wildlife Commission unanimously approved the state's first
leases under this states new prairie habitat
conservation lease program.
The state will lease more than 50000 acres
from private landowners owners across 10 properties in
Eastern Montana.
The program aims to ultimately protect as much
as half a million acres of prairie in
the next 5 years using
conservation leases.
Now these are not the same as the
B conservation leases. These are state conservation leases,
but it is interesting that they are coming
about at about the same time as the
B program.
Sage graphs are among the species are expected
to benefit from this leasing program,
as you guys probably know sage g are
a perennial issue in Montana, and This is
1 way they've decided to try to keep
them off of the endangered species list.
This is 1 of those things that as
the saying goes, what's good for the bird
is good for their herd. So unsurprisingly, you're
gonna see rancher support for this as well.
It really seems like, a win win program
happening right now in Montana.
Alright. That's it for us today, folks as
always. Feel free to get in touch if
you have feedback about the show, leave us
a review on Apple Podcast. Or wherever you're
listening to this, you can always reach us
podcast at western priorities dot org.
Thanks again to Hit for sharing the story
behind gaze of national parks today, and thank
you for listening to the landscape.
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