Great parks and healthy landscapes are the products of strong leadership. This show is dedicated to helping you become that leader.
Parks and Restoration is the podcast for parks, outdoor recreation, and natural resource professionals who want to lead well and leave things better than they found them.
Every other week, we dive into the human side of public land work—navigating burnout, leading teams, cultivating culture, and staying connected to the deeper purpose behind it all. Through real-world stories, lessons from the field, and the occasional metaphor stolen from a fire line or turkey hunt, we help you become a better leader in the landscapes you serve.
Whether you're managing a county park system, coordinating prescribed burns, or mentoring the next generation of conservation professionals, this show is here to remind you: you're not alone, and your work matters.
Meet the Hosts
Chris Lee and Jeremy Yost started out as coworkers, became friends, and now consider each other adopted brothers. They share a love for the outdoors and the parks and natural resources they're both drawn to and are lucky enough to work in every day.
Chris Lee
Chris is a lifelong outdoorsman, ecologist, and leadership nerd who serves as the director of a county conservation department in Iowa. With two decades of experience in parks and natural resource management, he’s passionate about cultivating great teams, strong leaders, beautiful parks, and healthy landscapes. He also speaks and consults on "leadership through the lens of ecology," delivering keynotes and workshops that weave the universal functions of the natural world with foundational leadership principles.
Chris lives with his wife and two school-age kids on a couple acres surrounded by woods and farms just outside of Burlington, Iowa.
Jeremy Yost
Jeremy is a passionate upland hunter, crappie fisherman and nature nerd, who grew up
in the Loess Hills of Iowa. Since starting his career as an intern almost 20 years ago, he
has had several jobs including working with Chris in Eastern Iowa, before moving back
home. He is now on the Natural Areas Management team at a county conservation
department, managing remnant prairies, oak savannas, and quality uplands on public
land. He is excited to share stories and insights to hopefully spark ideas to help you
become a better leader and improve parks in Iowa and beyond.
He lives with his wife, who also works in the conservation space, and their two Brittanys.
You can usually find them fishing, hiking, walking the dogs, or working on a prescribed
fire together.