He returned March 19 and she returned on the 24th. And with that, the 22nd nesting season of our resident osprey pair began. This pair is emblematic of the conservation success story of the species. But they also hold a...

The site of an archaeological dig in Lycoming County becomes a vibrant community park with help from the Keystone Recreation, Park and Conservation Fund. Another success story to mark the Keystone Fund’s 25th anniversary, and a chat with PEC’s new...

Author and advocate Richard Louv has been writing for years about the connection between human health and our relationship to the outdoors. He joins us with a preview of his upcoming Philadelphia appearance as part of Tookany-Tacony-Frankford Watershed Partnership’s “Nature...

Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful “Lets Pick It Up Days” will take place from April 7st to April 30th . As part of this program, PEC’s own Keep Northeastern Pennsylvania Beautiful will be scheduling several events throughout Northeast PA. Please check the Events...

Since its inception in 1993, the Keystone Recreation, Park and Conservation Fund has made possible the creation or improvement of thousands of community assets – everything from trails and green space to libraries and historic sites. In honor of the...

Spring and summer are a great time to get out and explore the outdoors, or to tackle a project that will help preserve or enhance natural and recreational resources in your community. The middle of winter is… a great time...

Those who know me are not surprised when they learn that my path to PEC and the conservation sector was sparked by my love of birds. Some might call it an obsession, but that’s a story for another day. 2018...

Fish and houseguests, a great Pennsylvanian once wrote, begin to smell after three days. The freshness window for Christmas trees is, admittedly, a bit longer. But by mid-January, even the most committed procrastinators have to admit: it’s time for last...

Abington Township Environmental Advisory Council Receives 2017 Planning Advocate Award   Volunteering can be exhausting. For many retirees, volunteer work is literally a full-time job; the rest of us do our best to fit in activities after work and on...

PEC was proud to host the 27th Annual Evening for Northeast Pennsylvania’s Environment on October 26 in Wilkes-Barre. The dinner, emceed by WNEP’s Don Jacobs and featuring keynote remarks from DCNR Secretary Cindy Adams Dunn, honored local leaders for their...

Pennsylvania is riddled with abandoned oil wells, and the state doesn’t have the resources to locate and plug even a fraction of them. That’s why DEP wants to make it easier — and less risky — for private actors to...

In early October, a group of 18 appointed citizen members of the Conservation and Natural Resources Advisory Council (CNRAC) spent three days touring the region known for outdoor recreation and natural beauty. Drawing from diverse experiences and perspectives, council members...

With more than a million visitors a year, the Great Allegheny Passage is one of Pennsylvania’s biggest trail development success stories. A group of state and local government officials rode the GAP this fall, along with community and business leaders...

The Pennsylvania Outdoor Corps is providing muscle for scores of recreation and conservation projects statewide. But the program is also doing something else that’s arguably even more important: cultivating a diverse new generation of citizen-stewards and future conservation professionals. DCNR...

It was a mix of business suits and biking shorts at the Marilla Center in Morgantown, West Virginia, where the Industrial Heart Land Coalition (IHTC) held its quarterly meeting on Thursday, August, 24th. Trail representatives from Parkersburg to the PA Wilds...

Mounting opposition to budget riders, DEP’s modest progress toward better clean drinking water enforcement, and good news from the Chesapeake Bay. Also: why do birds suddenly appear every time you reclaim and reforest abandoned mine lands?

PEC’s Community Illegal Dumpsite Cleanup Program returned to action this spring, as nearly 200 local volunteers hauled away upwards of 46 tons of waste and debris from sites across northeastern Pennsylvania.   Susquehanna County PEC’s ongoing partnership with the Friends of...

June is budget month in Harrisburg, and that means a year’s worth of fiscal numbers and news come to a head through many different moving parts. While 2017 is a different year, we are again faced with daunting numbers and...

PEC opposes a state Senate bill that would expose surface water to further impacts from underground mining, and we pay tribute to two western PA environmental leaders up for Lifetime Achievement honors at our spring awards dinner.     Links:...

Students in the University of Scranton’s “Extreme Physiology” program learn about the physiological effects of different training environments by experiencing them firsthand. A new four-week summer course offering has participants hiking, biking, and paddling through the often rugged terrain of northeastern Pennsylvania to earn elective credits in...

The Montour Woods Conservation Area outside Pittsburgh is a time capsule, studded with remnants of the area’s agricultural and industrial past. It’s also part of the pathway to a future when public parks and greenspaces across the region will be...

More than 300 northeastern Pennsylvanians turned out last weekend to help PEC and DCNR plant thousands of seedlings on former mining sites. This week’s show features voices from our Earth Day 2017 tree-planting event in Pinchot State Forest, Luzerne County....

On April 22, 2017, hundreds of volunteers planted trees on barren former mine land sites to enhance water quality in the Susquehanna River in support of the Chesapeake Bay Program and the Appalachian Regional Reforestation Initiative. Local action in support...

On April 22, 2017, hundreds of volunteers planted trees on barren former mine land sites to enhance water quality in the Susquehanna River in support of the Chesapeake Bay Program and the Appalachian Regional Reforestation Initiative. Local action in support...

Pennsylvania state Senator John Yudichak (D-Luzerne) talks about growing up near the site of PEC’s Earth Day 2017 tree-planting in Pinchot State Forest, and watching its transformation from abandoned mine site to restored native forest. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WMxSDB1YroQ&feature=youtu.beVideo can’t be loaded: A...

Volunteers celebrate Earth Day 2017 by planting 8000 trees in Pinchot State Forest, Luzerne County. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gf-pa4XyO1Q&feature=youtu.beVideo can’t be loaded: Mine Land to Forest Land (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gf-pa4XyO1Q&feature=youtu.be)

  Reaction to the Trump administration’s budget proposal, recognition for PEC’s illegal dumpsite cleanup program, and a preview of Carnegie Mellon University’s “Energy Week.”

Join PEC, the DCNR Bureau of Forestry, and Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful as we celebrate Earth Day weekend with a pair of tree-planting events in Eastern Pennsylvania: On April 21st and April 22nd volunteers will plant 7,480 seedlings — including White Birch, Quaking Aspen and Chestnut Oak...

The state’s Conservation Landscapes program is poised to expand in 2017 with the creation of a new landscape area in western PA. We’ll learn about the new “Glacier’s Edge” landscape from program manager Marla Papernick on this week’s show.

PEC’s illegal dumpsite cleanup program ended 2016 with a pair of cleanup events in Susquehanna County. Workers from the Springville Township Street Department got the job done on December 8th, just in time for the first snowfall of the year. A total...