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.

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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&#39;s ascent of this iconic mountain, marking the completion of his Appalachian Trail thru-hike.

Dispatches from the Appalachian Trail: Katahdin

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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.

Dispatches from the Appalachian Trail: Cars Versus Hikers

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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.

Dispatches from the Appalachian Trail: A Not-So-Perfect Day on Bellvale Mountain, NY

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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.

Dispatches from the Appalachian Trail: Birding the AT

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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.

Dispatches from the Appalachian Trail: The Loss of a Fellow Thru-hiker

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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.

Dispatches from the Appalachian Trail: A Perfect Day on Roan Mountain

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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.

Dispatches from the Appalachian Trail: Trail Magic and the Church

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On day two of my journey along the Appalachian trail, an encounter with an Army Ranger training exercise inspired this interview.

Dispatches from the Appalachian Trail: Army Ranger Training

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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.

Dispatches from the Appalachian Trail: Rowan’s Interview

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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.

Monty Hudson wanted his daughter, Siena, to have a good time on her first backpacking trip. But things didn’t go according to plan.

BONUS Episode: A Positive Experience

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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.

John Freemuth was a public policy professor and chair of the Andrus Center at Boise State University who shaped that way that we view public lands in the West.

BONUS Episode: A Tribute to John Freemuth

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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.

Season Two of Common Land will focus on the Appalachian Trail - a 2,200-mile-long ribbon of protected land stretching from Georgia to Maine, and this bonus episode examines the motivations behind those who choose the hike the entirety of the trail, while examining how the spread of COVID-19 has affected this protected area.

Season 2 Prequel: COVID-19 and the Appalachian Trail

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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.

Now, at a time of urgent conservation need due to a multitude of threats stemming from our climate crisis, funding for basic research and monitoring of raptor populations is extremely hard to come by.

Birds of Prey Episode 10: The Climate Crisis and Our Uncertain Future

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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 spread of cheatgrass, an invasive annual grass species, throughout the Snake River Plain, and much of the Intermountain West, has transformed the ecosystems of the entire region.

Birds of Prey Episode 9: The Cheatgrass Fire Cycle

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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.

European American settlers first began to arrive in Southwest Idaho and the Snake River Canyon region in substantial numbers in the mid-1800s, setting off a conflict over land ownership that persists to this day.

Birds of Prey Episode 8: Unceded Land

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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.

The Shoshone and Paiute people and their ancestors have lived in and around the Snake River Canyon region for at least 14,500 years, and in this episode of the series we take a look at their culture and lifeways before the arrival of European American settlers.

Birds of Prey Episode 7: Ancient History

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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.

The designation of the Snake River Birds of Prey National Conservation Area brought controversy, as the presence of a military training area within the newly created NCA became well publicized for the first time.

Birds of Prey Episode 6: Combat Training

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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.

The Snake River Birds of Prey Area needed a champion in congress if it was ever to receive permanent protection, and in 1990 that champion emerged with the election of Democrat Larry LaRocco to Idaho’s first congressional district.

Birds of Prey Episode 5: A National Conservation Area

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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.

A controversy over water rights in Idaho that had been brewing for decades took center stage in the 1980s, and played a crucial role in determining the future path for the protection of the Snake River Canyon.

Birds of Prey Episode 4: The Swan Falls Agreement

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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.

In the 1970s a truly unique partnership began to take shape in the Snake River Canyon that would connect scientific research to politics and public policy in a manner not seen before or since.

Birds of Prey Episode 3: Land of the Prairie Falcon

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.