Philadelphia's trails took a beating from Hurricane Ida, and some will take months to recover. Two weeks after the floodwaters receded, we look at conditions along the Schuylkill River Trail with representatives from the City of Philadelphia and the Schuylkill River Greenways National Heritage Area....

If someone tells you they host a program for underserved and under-represented youth in Pittsburgh and Johnstown, PA that includes three days of river surfing, conservation, and filmmaking… you might have questions. For starters: what’s river surfing? This concept is probably better expl...

In August, Pennsylvania released its updated State Forest Action Plan. A requirement of the federal Farm Bill, these plans are completed by all U.S. states and territories every ten years to assess the condition of their forests and guide future management. This is Pennsylvania’s first comprehensi...

On June 19th, paddlers gathered at Riverside Park in Greenville, PA to celebrate the Shenango River as 2021’s River of the Year. The sojourn was hosted by the nominating organization, the Shenango River Watchers. Each year, the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources works...

We celebrate Pennsylvania Trails Month with a preview of this year's PEC Public Lands Ride and the 11th annual PEC Environment Ride. Pennsylvania Environmental Council · A Ride for Everyone   As summer comes to an end, we’re looking forward to cooler weather, changing leaves, and Pe...

Today the state’s Independent Regulatory Review Commission concurred with the Environmental Quality Board, as well as the Department of Environmental Protection’s (“DEP”) Citizens Advisory Council, Small Business Compliance Advisory Committee, Environmental Justice Advisory Board, and Air Qu...

As a result of planning decisions made decades ago, communities throughout suburban Philadelphia struggle with flooding and other negative impacts from heavy rainfall. These conditions don't just affect residential properties, which account for the bulk of land use in the Wissahickon and Tookany/Tac...

PEC works with partners in the Circuit Trails Coalition to create outdoor spaces that are inclusive and welcoming to all, a commitment that has led us to forge new partnerships and seek out creative approaches to engaging trail users. One such innovative effort is TrailOff, described below in ...

An aerial map of tree canopy in any large U.S. city will give you a relatively accurate picture of income and racial demographics: with few exceptions, the more tree cover a neighborhood has, the more likely it is to be wealthy and predominantly white. Tree Equity Score, a new tool by American Fores...

This summer has been packed with climate wake-up calls. Dangerously high temperatures, wildfires, and severe storms have devastated communities across the country. Just this week, the U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change released a new report which outlined in extensive detail how humans h...

The Liberty Bell Trail (LBT) in North Penn and Indian Valley will link residents and visitors alike to downtown centers; residential neighborhoods; parks, libraries, and schools; natural areas and open spaces; transportation hubs; and much, much more. In addition to local connections...

There are 349 rare, threatened, or endangered native plant species in Pennsylvania. The habitats they call home are as diverse as the plants themselves. As the climate changes, new challenges will arise for the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, the agency in charge of ma...

There are two ways to participate in the 2021 Public Lands Ride. We are excited to promote both an in-person event returning to Black Moshannon State Park on October 2, 2021, and the release of six new routes in different state forests to be ridden anytime. Learn more here. Route Overview: ...

Last month in Rector, PA, staff from six state parks around the Laurel Highlands gathered at Powdermill Nature Reserve. The gathering was the first of its kind for the Laurel Highlands Conservation Landscape since the onset of the pandemic, and attendees were eager to meet and share ideas face-to-fa...

It's one thing for an environmental organization to tout its commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion. It's another to live out that commitment at the level of programming and daily activities. On this episode: how Philadelphia's Tookany/Tacony-Frankford Watershed Partnership is innovating upo...

There are two ways to participate in the 2021 Public Lands Ride. We are excited to promote both an in-person event returning to Black Moshannon State Park on October 2, 2021, and the release of six new routes in different state forests to be ridden anytime. Learn more here.  Route Overvi...

This post was originally published on Environmental Defense Fund's Climate 411 Blog. It was co-authored by Taylor Bacon, High Meadows Fellow with the U.S. Clean Air team at EDF. As Pennsylvania moves forward with the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), questions are being raised ab...

This post is adapted from an article originally published in May 2021 on Discover NEPA's blog. It  was written by PEC's Janet Sweeney and Imogen Wirth-Granlund, Program Coordinator at the Delaware & Lehigh National Heritage Corridor.  It’s time to get your tail on the trail! No, I...

Billions of dollars' worth of solar panels and other components are flowing into the U.S. from China, feeding a market increasingly hungry for renewable energy. Most are made with materials linked to alleged forced-labor practices in the Xinjiang region. As the market heats up and trans-Pacific trad...

At the end of June, the General Assembly hurriedly presented a budget package, passed it, and adjourned for the summer. Due to federal assistance provided through the American Recovery Act, this year’s state budget didn’t generate the usual drama. But the quick closure also meant several oth...

There are two ways to participate in the 2021 Public Lands Ride. We are excited to promote both an in-person event returning to Black Moshannon State Park on October 2, 2021, and the release of six new routes in different state forests to be ridden anytime. Learn more here.  Overview: Wor...

The Ride community grows and changes, but it’s always been a rewarding community to be a part of. Although Early Bird Registration is now closed, it’s not to late to join the riders who have already committed for this year’s Environment Ride! Knowing who’s in early helps us with planni...

On June 25th the U.S. House of Representatives passed a bipartisan resolution (H.J.Res.34) pursuant to the Congressional Review Act (‘CRA’) to restore EPA rules limiting oil and gas methane pollution from new wells, processing plants, and other facilities across the country. A companion measure ...

Trails are full of stories. There are histories about the men, women, and mules that fueled the birth American industry along canal paths. There are adventure stories about discovering natural wonders at a trail’s end. There are tales of self-discovery after learning what the trail has to teac...

If you live in parts of southern, central, or northeastern Pennsylvania, you may have already seen Brood X cicadas emerging. After developing underground for seventeen years, Pennsylvania’s largest group of periodical cicadas is ready to spend a few short weeks shedding their exoskeletons, mat...

PEC's legacy mine land reforestation initiative exploded in 2021, more than doubling the total number of acres planted since the program first launched. Follow a few of this year's 122 thousand seedlings on their journey from DCNR's forest nursery to planting sites all over Pennsylvania. ...

After a year of virtual events, PEC is excited to host or support a lineup of outdoor recreation activities this summer and fall. We have running, walking, cycling, and paddling events – so whatever your preferred form of recreation, there’s probably an event for you. Scroll through the story...

Trails can be a tremendous economic opportunity for small towns – but all the funding and political muscle in the world won’t matter if your trail project doesn’t address real community needs and center community voices. In her new book, trails advocate and community-builder Amy Camp explains ...

Building trails isn’t as simple as some people think! That’s especially true when the design goal is to welcome users of limited abilities including children, seniors, and those who are otherly-abled. Building a multi-purpose, ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) accessible trail that is sa...

Whenever a new trail project is considered, questions immediately arise about who will own the trail, who will maintain it, and who will be liable for it. When that trail passes through multiple municipalities, which is very common in the state of Pennsylvania, finding the answers to these basic...

In the perennial swing state of Pennsylvania, elections are often decided by voters who don’t identify with either political party – and recent polling shows Independents have swung hard on the issue of climate. With 3 out of 4 Pennsylvanians now voicing serious concern about the impacts of clim...

There are two ways to participate in the 2021 Public Lands Ride. We are excited to promote both an in-person event returning to Black Moshannon State Park on October 2, 2021, and the release of six new routes in different state forests to be ridden anytime. Learn more here.  Overview This rou...

Pennsylvania is moving forward on investments in Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Storage (CCUS) as part of its plan to comprehensively address climate change.  CCUS removes CO2 emissions at the source, before they have the chance to enter the atmosphere and cause warming effects. Once captured, C...

Nobody knows exactly how many orphaned oil and gas wells dot the Pennsylvania landscape – even conservative estimates put the number well into the hundreds of thousands. Every day these defunct facilities remain unplugged, they’re emitting greenhouse gases, contaminating groundwater, and comprom...

2020 was the hottest year ever recorded. 2019 was the third-hottest, after 2016. In fact, each of the top-ten hottest years in human history was recorded in this century – and we’re not even a quarter of the way through. Meanwhile, Pennsylvanians’ lives and livelihoods are increasingly being d...

It didn’t take long for the new state and federal legislative sessions to become active, so let’s get right to it. First and foremost is the Governor’s proposal to link with the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (aka “RGGI”) – a market-based, multistate platform to reduce carbon ...