Common Land: Recent Episodes
The Wild Lens Collective & Radio Boise
Common Land explores the creation stories behind protected areas. In each season of the show, we take a deep dive into the history, science and politics behind the establishment of one particular patch of protected common land. National parks, monuments, conservation areas, national scenic trails - any area that has been granted protected status by government is fair game for exploration on this new documentary style podcast series.
Season one is focused on a National Conservation Area in Idaho that is home to a unique population of birds of prey.
What happens when the thru-hike ends? This epilogue to the series explores the connections between mental health and long distance hiking from the perspective of Chop Chop, one of the members of Matt’s trail family. Chop Chop hiked the AT as a strategy for treating anxiety and depression, and it was an incredibly effective strategy. But Chop Chop struggled with post-trail depression once his hike came to an end. This is a story about mental health, the benefits of getting outside, and what the trail can provide.
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This bonus episode comes from The Broadside, produced by North Carolina public radio. The Broadside explores stories from the American South, focusing on topics that might not be on the front page, but deserve a closer look. This episode is one that I think will be of particular interest to listeners of Common Land. “The race to save the Cherokee language”, features the work of a small group of Cherokee language teachers. One of those teachers is Gil Jackson, also known as Doyi, who thru-hiked the Appalachian Trail and was featured as a guest in episode two of Common Land’s second season.
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Katahdin is the Northern terminus of the AT, and one of the trail’s most iconic mountains. As Matt attempts to reach Katahdin’s summit and finish his thru-hike, we explore some of the controversy surrounding Baxter State Park, where Katahdin is located. Park leadership has clashed with both Indigenous governments and the Appalachian Trail Conservancy over the past few decades, and some say that the AT might need to find a new Northern terminus.
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Matt enters Maine, the last state of his AT journey, and by far the most remote section of the Appalachian Trail. We explore recent plans to protect large swaths of the 100-mile wilderness - but Indigenous leaders from the Wabanaki Alliance have different ideas about what constitutes land protection.
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Matt, Candy and their tramily continue through the White Mountains, reaching New Hampshire’s highest peak, Mt. Washington. A frustrating experience with the Appalachian Mountain Club’s alpine hut system inspires Matt to explore the history of these unique high elevation hotels.
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While Candy prepares to return to the trail, Matt connects with a fun group of hikers and forms a “tramily.” As Candy rejoins, the group enters New Hampshire’s White Mountains, famous for both spectacular views and extremely challenging terrain. We explore the balancing act that land managers are playing between protecting sensitive ecosystems and allowing access to these spectacular landscapes.
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As Candy is forced off trail, Matt experiences numerous obstacles as he tries to continue the hike. He learns of a Native American reservation in Connecticut that threatened to shut down the trail, and he is nearly stopped in his tracks by a bite from a tick.
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Matt and Candy experience some of the most challenging terrain along the entire AT during an intense thunderstorm. The weather is changing, and that makes an AT thru-hike more dangerous and difficult to plan. We explore how climate change is altering the trail and the trail experience. An injury forces Matt and Candy to reevaluate their plans.
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Candy reflects on how few older women she sees thru-hiking the AT, and we dive into the history of Appalachian Trail thru-hikes. This history begins with Grandma Gatewood, the woman who popularized the concept of a thru-hike in the 1950s.
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As Matt and Candy reach Harper’s Ferry, known as the psychological mid-point of a thru-hike, we explore how the trail went from simple footpath to a uniquely shaped National Park. The AT’s history is also a history of racial segregation, and we talk to historians and modern hiking guides who are using the trail to teach about the underground railroad.
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Matt and Candy experience tragedy on the AT. A friend and fellow hiker loses his life in a tragic accident, forcing Matt to reflect on the loss of his dad, and his reasons for thru-hiking. The AT was born out of grief, and we explore how the trail’s origin story is connected to loss and reflection.
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Matt and Candy hike their first 20 mile day, despite Candy’s fear of injury. There are other things to fear on the trail too - Matt and Candy have their first encounter with a Timber Rattlesnake, and they start to explore the ecological history of the Appalachians.
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Matt goes birdwatching on the trail and discovers his trailname. The exploration of trail names continues with another thru-hiker who thru-hiked the AT to connect with the experiences of his Cherokee ancestors, and to identify ancient footpaths that overlap with the Appalachian Trail.
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Matt and his mom Candy begin their thru-hike in Georgia. As they begin to get a feel for their new routine, we explore the history of the former Cherokee Nation in Northern Georgia.
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Season two of Common Land follows show producer Matt Podolsky as he attempts to thru-hike the Appalachian Trail with his 65-year-old mom, Candy. Matt and his mom face extreme weather, illness, and injury as they trek 2,200 miles from Georgia to Maine. Along the way, Matt shares stories of remarkable people, surprising history, and the modern challenges facing the Appalachian Trail — all as the iconic footpath marks its 100th anniversary.
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Mount Katahdin sits at the northern terminus of the Appalachian Trail, in the remote central Maine woods. This bonus episode documents host Matt Podolsky's ascent of this iconic mountain, marking the completion of his Appalachian Trail thru-hike.
Navigating trail towns and road crossings along the Appalachian Trail can be a challenge for long distance hikers. Most towns lack pedestrian infrastructure, forcing hikers to get creative when visiting trail communities. We explore some of the difficulties associated with getting around trail towns on foot in this bonus mini-episode of the series.
Not every day is perfect, and in this mini-episode we explore one of the most challenging days that producer/thru-hiker Matt Podolsky has had on his Appalachian Trail journey.
Birdsong is ever present on the Appalachian Trail, and in this mini-episode, host Matt Podolsky shares recordings that he’s gathered of birds that he’s seen and heard on his AT thru-hike thus far.
Just a few weeks ago, a 23-year-old thru-hiker lost his life on the Appalachian Trail. This mini-episode is a reflection on this tragic loss.
An update from the Appalachian Trail, in which producer Matt Podolsky and his mom Candy share stories from one of their best days of the journey thus far.
Throughout Southern Appalachia, church groups commonly provide what’s referred to as “Trail Magic” - a free bonus snack or meal shared with Appalachian Trail thru-hikers. In this mini-episode, we explore the phenomenon of Trail Magic and its association with the church.
On day two of my journey along the Appalachian trail, an encounter with an Army Ranger training exercise inspired this interview.
Before embarking upon a 6-month-long hike across the spine of the Appalachian Mountain range, my 8-year-old son Rowan had some questions. This is the interview that Rowan conducted with me just a few days before my departure.
In this bonus episode of the show, shared with you via the podcast HumaNature, we’ll hear about a father who takes his young daughter out on her first backpacking trip in one of our most treasured protected areas - Bryce Canyon National Park.
John Freemuth was a public policy professor and the Cecil Andrus Endowed Chair of Environment and Public Lands at Boise State University whose voice was featured in season one of Common Land. He passed away on May 2nd, 2020 - this is our tribute to a professor who shaped the way that we view public lands in the West.
Season Two of Common Land was supposed to be focused on the Appalachian Trail, and production was scheduled to start in March of 2020. Unfortunately, the spread of COVID-19 has forced us, along with many others hoping to thru-hike the entire 2,200-mile-long trail, to postpone their trips. In this bonus episode of the show, we explore the motivations behind those seeking to thru-hike the Appalachian Trail, and examine how the spread of COVID-19 has affected these hikers, as well as the trail itself.
The future of the Morley Nelson Snake River Birds of Prey NCA is highly uncertain as the area and its unique raptor population face a multitude of threats stemming from our current climate crisis. Despite this, basic research and monitoring of the health of raptor populations and their habitats has been defunded in recent decades, making it impossible to know what the future holds for this globally unique population of birds of prey.
Cheatgrass, an invasive annual grass species, has spread throughout the Intermountain West, including the entire area that makes up the Morley Nelson Snake River Birds of Prey NCA. As this invasive species has become dominant throughout this large region, it has transformed shrubland ecosystems and dramatically increased the risk of wildfire, causing innumerable problems for both humans and wildlife.
The arrival of substantial numbers of European American settlers in Southwest Idaho in the mid-1800s led to conflict over land ownership with the Shoshone and Paiute tribes. Although attempts were made to settle these conflicts via treaty-making, the treaties that cover the Snake River Canyon region were never ratified by the US Senate. This, according to current leaders of the Shoshone and Paiute tribes, means that these tribal nations still have a legal ownership claim over all of the land of Southwest Idaho.
While our primary focus in this series has been the very recent history of the Snake River Canyon region, this area has been occupied by humans for over 14,000 years. In this episode we look at the history, culture and life-ways of the Shoshone and Paiute people, who were the stewards of this land for many thousands of years before the arrival of the first European American settlers.
Conflict erupted in the newly designated Snake River Birds of Prey NCA as land managers and recreational users were forced to deal with the presence of an active military training area within the conservation area. Although this National Guard training area had been established in the 1950s, the creation of the NCA presented a series of challenges for those tasked with managing this newly created protected area. Although many of these challenges remain, the story of the Snake River Birds of Prey NCA over the past 26 years has been one of collaboration and co-management between the Bureau of Land Management and the National Guard.
Although Idaho is known as one of the most politically conservative states, it also has a long legacy of land protection. In this episode, we analyze the political process behind the establishment of permanent protection for the Morley Nelson Snake River Birds of Prey National Conservation Area, and explore the future of public lands policy and politics in Idaho.
Just two years after the expansion of the Snake River Birds of Prey Natural Area, an extremely controversial water rights issue exploded into the forefront of Idaho politics. The epicenter of this controversy was the Swan Falls Dam, which sat in the heart of the newly expanded Birds of Prey area, and would play a central role in the future of the Snake River Canyon.
The 1970s saw the emergence of a truly unique partnership in the Snake River Canyon between scientific researchers and policy makers. Raptor biologists Mike Kochert and Karen Steenhof, at the direction of former Idaho Governor and Secretary of the Interior Cecil Andrus, began conducting research that would determine a biological boundary for a newly expanded protected area along the Snake River. The story behind this research project and how it influenced the dramatic expansion of the Snake River Birds of Prey Natural Area is deeply fascinating and highly instructive.
By the late 1960s Morley Nelson had a clear goal - to establish federal protection for the Snake River Canyon. He began to steer his ever growing cadre of falconry apprentices towards conducting the research that was needed to protect the area, while continuing to establish strategic political partnerships. Morley befriended the young, newly-elected governor of Idaho, Cecil Andrus, cementing a political alliance that would prove crucial in the establishment of protection for the Snake River Canyon. Morley also brought more attention to birds of prey in Southwest Idaho with the production of a new raptor film starring the daughter of Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward.
One man is largely responsible for establishing the vision for protection of the Snake River Canyon - Morley Nelson. Our first episode tracks Morley's deep passion for birds of prey, and examines how he set the stage for the establishment of protected status for this unique stretch of canyon in Southwest Idaho.
Season One of Common Land explores the creation story behind the Morley Nelson Snake River Birds of Prey National Conservation Area. This unique stretch of the Snake River Canyon in Southwest Idaho is home to the highest nesting densities of birds of prey anywhere in North America, and the story behind how it was protected is complex and fascinating.
Episode One of the series is scheduled for release on January 22nd, 2020.