Hemlocks to Hellbenders

Nestled in the heart of Pennsylvania’s coal region, Delaware Canal State Park stands as a testament to the intertwining of history and nature.

Stretching almost 59 miles from Easton to Bristol along the Delaware River, this park is made up of a tapestry of landscapes that begs to be explored by foot, bike and boat. 

You can spend a lifetime exploring this unique park, and still discover something new every day.

On this episode, I speak with Gabie Lent. Gabie is the Environmental Education Specialist at Delaware Canal and Ralph Stover State Parks.

Be sure to check out and support our sponsors for the 2024 season:
 
Keystone Trails Association
KTA is dedicated to providing, preserving, protecting and promoting recreational hiking trails and hiking opportunities in Pennsylvania. Use code "HELLBENDERS" to receive $5 off a yearly membership.

Purple Lizard Maps 
Purveyors of incredibly detailed, highly curated, and waterproof trail maps of Pennsylvania's state forests. Find them at your local outfitters, bike shops, and bookstores or visit PurpleLizard.com. 

Support the show

Visit our website to learn more about the podcast, to purchase merch and to find out about our incredible sponsors. Follow us on Instagram and Meta to stay connected. 

Hosting, production and editing: Christian Alexandersen
Music: Jon Sauer
Graphics: Matt Davis

Located in Potter County, Cherry Springs State Park is home to some of the darkest night skies on the East Coast. Astronomers and stargazers from all over the country flock to this small park just to look up at the stars.

The darkness of the area and the clarity found in the sky makes Chery Springs perhaps the last best refuge of the natural night sky. Like any other resource, the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources has worked hard to preserve the views above Cherry Springs designating it the Commonwealth’s first Dark Sky Park.

The International Dark-Sky Association named it the second "International Dark Sky Park.”
And the views. They are simply divine. On clear nights, you can see the heavenly bodies circling above. Laying on a blanket in the park’s Night Sky Public Viewing Area, you can watch shooting stars, meteor showers and the Milky Way pass overhead.

In a country and Commonwealth riddled with light pollution, it’s a special place to see special things.

On this episode, we speak with Park Manager Ben Stone to learn all about this spectacular park.

Photo courtesy of Curt Weinhold
Visit his website for more examples of his wonderful photography

Be sure to check out and support our sponsors for the 2024 season:

Keystone Trails Association
KTA is dedicated to providing, preserving, protecting and promoting recreational hiking trails and hiking opportunities in Pennsylvania. Use code "HELLBENDERS" to receive $5 off a yearly membership.

Purple Lizard Maps 
Purveyors of incredibly detailed, highly curated, and waterproof trail maps of Pennsylvania's state forests. Find them at your local outfitters, bike shops, and bookstores or visit PurpleLizard.com. 

Support the show

Visit our website to learn more about the podcast, to purchase merch and to find out about our incredible sponsors. Follow us on Instagram and Meta to stay connected. 

Hosting, production and editing: Christian Alexandersen
Music: Jon Sauer
Graphics: Matt Davis

We’re building on the success of our first season with even more great guests and great stories for our second season in 2024. This season we’re going to be hearing from park and forest managers, conservationists, biologists, environmental educators, volunteers and lots more. 

Experts in their fields will be speaking to us about our public lands, conservation efforts, wildlife management, outdoor recreation and lots more.

The aim of the podcast is to shine a spotlight on the stunning parks and forests we have in Pennsylvania and inspire people to become stewards of our public lands. Let us help you fall in love them, then join us in protecting them.

I’m also excited to announce that we have two sponsors for our second season – the Keystone Trails Association and Purple Lizard. You’re going to be learning about their awesome services and products throughout the year.

Our second season kicks off on Jan. 3 with an episode on Cherry Springs State Park – Pennsylvania’s first dark sky park. I look forward to sharing our new guests and episodes with you in 2024.

Support the show

Visit our website to learn more about the podcast, to purchase merch and to find out about our incredible sponsors. Follow us on Instagram and Meta to stay connected. 

Hosting, production and editing: Christian Alexandersen
Music: Jon Sauer
Graphics: Matt Davis

The Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources is a gigantic operation. As the largest public landowner in the Commonwealth, DCNR manages millions of acres of land – including 124 state parks and 20 state forests.

But it doesn’t end there. DCNR also manages everything on those millions of acres. There’s the buildings, education centers, campgrounds, museums, playgrounds, cabins, yurts, pools, lakes and parking lots. And then there’s the hiking trails, bike paths, kayak launches, ATV trails, overlooks and vistas.

The list goes on and on and on.

With a staff of nearly 1,400 full-time and 1,300 seasonal employees, DCNR must cover day-to-day operations of these lands and facilities while also planning for the next 20 to 50 years. It’s an incredible amount of work that seems almost impossible address.

Luckily, we have someone leading the way. 

On the finale of our first season, I speak with Secretary Cindy Adams Dunn. Cindy is the Secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources.

We kick off our first episode of the second season on January 3. I hope you’ll join us again. 

Support the show

Visit our website to learn more about the podcast, to purchase merch and to find out about our incredible sponsors. Follow us on Instagram and Meta to stay connected. 

Hosting, production and editing: Christian Alexandersen
Music: Jon Sauer
Graphics: Matt Davis

When a hunter enters a forest with their bow or gun, there’s a good chance they won’t get a deer.  So, you would expect those few that are able to successful hunt a deer to keep the meat for themselves.

To feed their families and fill their freezers with the venison they harvested. But that’s not the case.

Every year, hundreds of thousands of pounds of venison are donated to Hunters Sharing the Harvest. This nonprofit processes and distributes donated deer meat from hunters to local food banks and charitable organizations in urban and rural communities to the benefit of hungry men, women and families throughout the Commonwealth.  

What started out as a small nonprofit program in Pennsylvania, has evolved into the preferred nationally recognized model other states now replicate.  It’s a success story built on kindness, generosity, charity and volunteerism. 

On this episode, I speak with Randy Ferguson. Randy is the executive director of Hunters Sharing the Harvest.

Support the show

Visit our website to learn more about the podcast, to purchase merch and to find out about our incredible sponsors. Follow us on Instagram and Meta to stay connected. 

Hosting, production and editing: Christian Alexandersen
Music: Jon Sauer
Graphics: Matt Davis

Throughout this season we’ve featured parks on an individual basis. My thinking has been that every park should have its own episode, letting each park shine on its own. But what if there are parks that are so connected to one another that they shouldn’t be separated?

That brings us to Tuscarora and Locust Lake State Parks.

They are both managed by the same park manager. They are both supported by the same volunteer group. And, they’re located in the same county, less than 10 miles apart.

To speak about Tuscarora State Park is to speak about Locust Lake State Park. And vice versa. So, I figured, we should feature them both in the same episode while giving them their own individual sections.

On this episode, I speak with Jennifer Holman. Jennifer is with the Friends of Tuscarora and Locust Lake State Parks. 

Support the show

Visit our website to learn more about the podcast, to purchase merch and to find out about our incredible sponsors. Follow us on Instagram and Meta to stay connected. 

Hosting, production and editing: Christian Alexandersen
Music: Jon Sauer
Graphics: Matt Davis

Jacobsburg Environmental Education Center is not what you would call a bucket list park. It doesn’t have the activities like Ohiopyle, or the waterfalls like Ricketts Glen or the scenic vistas like Leonard Harrison or Colton Point. 

Those are the parks you have to make reservations months in advance for. They are tourist destinations. Jacobsburg is not. 

And that’s the best part. It is a quiet, unassuming park that has beautiful features and an interesting history that is often overlooked. Making it a treasure for the locals and a hidden gem to those who venture out to eastern Pennsylvania.

On this episode, I speak with Robert Neitz. Rob is the manager of the Jacobsburg Environmental Education Center. 

Support the show

Visit our website to learn more about the podcast, to purchase merch and to find out about our incredible sponsors. Follow us on Instagram and Meta to stay connected. 

Hosting, production and editing: Christian Alexandersen
Music: Jon Sauer
Graphics: Matt Davis

Created in 2007, the Old Growth Forest Network works to identify and protect one forest in each county of the United States.

As of the recording of this episode, the Old Growth Forest Network has worked with local, state and federal agencies to identify and protect 28 ancient forests in Pennsylvania with more on the way. They can be found in parks, forests, natural areas, wildlife preserves and nature reserves. 

While the Old Growth Forest Network is working hard to identify and protect more ancient forests – these remarkable places remain under threat. Private landowners and timber companies are in possession of more old growth forests than the public. Without conservation, their destruction is almost guaranteed. But with your help, the organization can save an old growth forest in all 67 Pennsylvania counties. Will you help?

On this episode, I speak with Sarah Adloo and Brian Kane. Sarah is the executive director and Brian is the outreach coordinator & Mid-Atlantic regional manager for the Old Growth Forest Network.

Support the show

Visit our website to learn more about the podcast, to purchase merch and to find out about our incredible sponsors. Follow us on Instagram and Meta to stay connected. 

Hosting, production and editing: Christian Alexandersen
Music: Jon Sauer
Graphics: Matt Davis

Nathaniel Hawthorne once wrote that “I cannot endure to waste anything so precious as autumnal sunshine by staying in the house." I get it, Nate. 

There’s nothing I look forward to quite as much as fall. It’s sweater weather. It’s apple picking. It’s campfires and smores. It’s pumpkin spiced lattes. And it is, without a doubt, the most beautiful season. 

And what makes the fall so damn beautiful? The colors. Beginning in late September, green forests become a menagerie of colors. In Pennsylvania, every hill, every mountain, and every forest is alight with the most spectacular yellows, oranges and reds. 

I plan my fall weekends months in advance. Cramming in as many trips and hikes as I can to see such wonderful scenery. But planning those trips can be tricky. You always want to plan a big hiking weekend or leaf peeping trip at what’s called “peak season” – which is when the leaves look their best and brightest. A week early and you’ll see something nice, but not incredible. A week late and you’ll see empty trees and dead leaves. 

But who makes those forecasts? Who in Pennsylvania knows when and where the leaves will be changing at any given time across hundreds of miles of varied terrain? 

On this episode, I speak with Ryan Reed - a natural resource program specialist with the Pennsylvania Bureau of Forestry. 

Support the show

Visit our website to learn more about the podcast, to purchase merch and to find out about our incredible sponsors. Follow us on Instagram and Meta to stay connected. 

Hosting, production and editing: Christian Alexandersen
Music: Jon Sauer
Graphics: Matt Davis

Every year, the distinctive sound of elk bugling can be heard in the Elk State Forest.  That high-pitched sound comes from male elk that bugle during the breeding season to attract potential mates and to establish dominance. 

It’s the sound of these bugles and the sight of these majestic creatures that brings more than half a million visitors to northcentral Pennsylvania every year. Specifically, to Elk State Forest.

And while Elk State Forest is a secluded area most of the year, is inundated with people from the late summer through the fall that are in search of the largest free-roaming elk herd in the northeastern United States. The sight of a herd is special moment to remember. If you can beat the crowds. 

On this episode, I speak with Joe Kellert. Joe is the district forester for Elk State Forest.

Elk audio from NPS/Jennifer Jerrett

Support the show

Visit our website to learn more about the podcast, to purchase merch and to find out about our incredible sponsors. Follow us on Instagram and Meta to stay connected. 

Hosting, production and editing: Christian Alexandersen
Music: Jon Sauer
Graphics: Matt Davis