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. Next