Pennsylvania Legacies

2023 is an auspicious year for the Endless Mountains Heritage Region. Not only is the organization celebrating its 25th anniversary, they're also the sponsor of this year's Pennsylvania River of the Year, the North Branch Susquehanna. In the wake of a successful River of the Year Sojourn earlier this month, we talk with Executive Director Cain Chamberlain about EMHR's work on both water and land.

With the days getting warmer and summer just around the bend, it’s the perfect time to get out on the water. Paddling in Pennsylvania has grown in popularity, owing in large part to conservation efforts that have rehabilitated many of the state’s waterways. We believe that the more people who get on the water, the more they will want to keep it clean for generations to come. To get a rundown of th...

Coniferous trees once figured prominently in the makeup of Penn's Woods, but their populations never fully recovered from the deforestation of the nineteenth century. Now Pennsylvania's conifers face a new threat: invasive competitors and pests, warmer and wetter weather, and other disruptions linked to climate change. We explore an evergreen topic with Joe Stavish of Tree Pittsburgh in advance of...

Of America's ten most endangered waterways, as ranked by the group American Rivers, two can be found in Pennsylvania. While the problems they face are very different, the Ohio and Lehigh rivers both illustrate how intimately connected water issues are with human activity and a changing climate -- not just in the northeastern U.S., but nationwide.

The Pennsylvania Wilds is in the midst of an economic revival based on nature and outdoor recreation, but local leaders and residents worry their success could be undone by military jets flying at very low altitudes over protected public lands. With public comment now being accepted, we look at concerns about the Maryland Air National Guard's plans to expand training operations over one of Pennsyl...

When people vote to raise their own taxes to fund conservation programs, it's noteworthy. When it happens in a deeply conservative rural community, it's unusual. But when the proposal passes by a four-to-one margin, it's a mandate -- and then some. How did the campaign for Carbon County's open space initiative achieve such a blowout? And could other Sixth Class PA counties do the same? Organizer D...

The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021 will deliver unprecedented federal funding for alternative transportation by way of the Carbon Reduction Program. What might that mean for southeastern PA's Circuit Trails initiative? We discuss with Matthew Edmonds of the Montgomery County Planning Commission.

Oil and gas companies pay the U.S. government for the opportunity to drill on public lands, but they only pay royalties on natural gas that's captured and sold. When it's not worth the trouble of bringing it to market, companies either flare off surplus methane or simply release it into the atmosphere, where its near-term climate impact is worse than carbon dioxide's. A new Environmental Defense F...

Pennsylvania's state legislature is divided for the first time in more than a decade, and its new Democratic governor is looking for common ground to govern with bipartisan support. One of his Republican predecessors found that common ground in the environment. On the eve of what could be an especially contentious legislative session, we revisit our 2020 conversation with former governor Tom Ridge...

Could Pennsylvania's underground rock formations become a reservoir for captured greenhouse gas emissions? With a newly funded soil sample storage facility on the way, the Pennsylvania Geological Survey is in a better position to find out. We chat with Assistant State Geologist Kristin Carter.

2023 is already shaping up to be a big year for environmental policy and legislation, especially around matters of energy and climate. We review the agenda with PEC's Senior VP for Legal and Government Affairs, John Walliser.

Pennsylvania's landscape is riddled with abandoned oil and gas wells that were never properly shut down and sealed up, including hundreds of thousands for which the responsible parties can't be identified, or no longer exist. Between inadequate bonding requirements for operators and a chronically underfunded remediation program, DEP is fighting an uphill battle. But private well-plugging efforts l...

The Philly Bike Expo isn't just the largest independent bike show on the east coast -- it's one of the most unique events of its kind anywhere. Director Bina Bilenky explains how what began as a celebration of quirky and inventive design has grown into a hub for organizing and building stronger, more inclusive cycling communities.

The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission voted unanimously last month to study how electric utilities will meet the demand when Pennsylvania drivers transition to electric vehicles. Commissioners were responding to a petition brought by ChargEVC, a coalition focused on advancing transportation electrification throughout Pennsylvania. We discuss the issue with Pam Frank of Gabel Associates, who r...

Starting this month, Pennsylvania counties can apply for more than $120 million in new funding from the state’s Whole Home Repairs Program. In addition to fixing up older properties, grants to income-eligible homeowners may unlock other opportunities for funding energy-efficiency upgrades, cutting into a major source of carbon emissions in the Commonwealth. Jeaneen Zappa of the Keystone Energy Eff...

The Perkiomen Creek is the newest member of the Pennsylvania Water Trail Partnership. We talked to Ryan Beltz, Executive Director of the Perkiomen Watershed Conservancy, about the process of becoming an official water trail and the Conservancy’s other education and conservation efforts within the Perkiomen watershed.

Allegheny County recently announced its largest-ever investment in trails: nearly 22 million dollars in federally-leveraged grants to advance trails and active transportation. Friends of the Riverfront Executive Director Kelsey Ripper joins us to give an insight into the funded projects and their potential impacts.

Before most of the species was wiped out by blight, Pennsylvania’s forests were filled with American Chestnut trees. Now, nonprofits throughout Appalachia are working to restore Chestnut populations. One such group, Green Forests Work, is helping to reintroduce American Chestnuts in their native habitat by incorporating them into reforestation efforts on former surface-mining sites.

PEC's recently published gap analysis of the Circuit Trails network is more than just a list of priority segments: it proposes a whole new way of thinking about trail projects in terms of social impact. We hear from two members of the Circuit Trails Coalition's task force on justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion: Eleanor Horne of the Lawrence Hopewell Trail, and PEC's Zhenya Nalywayko, who pre...

The Lancaster Watershed Leadership Academy provides learning and networking opportunities for people who come from a variety of backgrounds but share the same vision of healthy local watersheds. As the program prepares to welcome a new class, we speak with graduates Lindsey Deininger and Emily Smedley, and with Allyson Gibson of Lancaster Clean Water Partners.

Ultramarathoner Shan Riggs talks about his 3,000-mile run from Florida to Maine to raise awareness and money for the East Coast Greenway Alliance.

The state budget passed in July represents Pennsylvania's biggest investment in conservation in more than 15 years, including funding for three new state parks. DCNR Secretary Cindy Adams Dunn returns to the podcast for a closer look at what's in the 2022-23 budget for the environment and outdoor recreation.

For more than 70 years, the Ohio River Valley Water Sanitation Commission (ORSANCO) has worked with Pennsylvania and seven other states to improve water quality in the Ohio River Basin. In addition to its extensive monitoring and data collection efforts, ORSANCO offers programs to help people connect with their local waterways and become better stewards. Lily Jones talks with outreach specialist N...

Low-producing "marginal" wells contribute less than a tenth of the oil and gas produced in the U.S. So why are they responsible for HALF of the industry's methane emissions? A new study from Environmental Defense Fund provides the first nationwide analysis of low-producing wells and their staggeringly disproportionate climate impact.

It's easy to get demoralized in the face of climate change, especially when it feels like there's nothing we, as individuals, can do about it. An initiative from the Carnegie Museum of Natural History (CMNH) in Pittsburgh is trying to change the dynamic by reframing the crisis in terms of local impacts and helping western Pennsylvanians meet it on their own terms. PEC's Lily Jones spoke with Dr. B...