… That the Cuyahoga River caught on fire.  OK, so it caught on fire a number of times, but this is the most famous incident, and one that played a critical role in the environmental movement.  How could we let our rivers become so polluted, that they could catch on fire? (And just how do you put out a fire on a body of water?)

Compare that to where we are today, and we have made incredible progress in protecting our natural resources.  Part of that story is the huge growth in land trusts.  Private non-profit organizations dedicated to protecting the land that is so important to us – biologically, for our food supply, for historical purposes, for our enjoyment, or for other reasons.

Today I am visiting with the Western Reserve Land Conservancy.  It is no coincidence that I am visiting them on the anniversary of the Cuyahoga River fire.  I wanted to see the good work that is being done in a part of our country that at one time seemed so hopeless.

I have had a wonderful first two weeks of my journey through the Northeast. I am behind on sharing podcasts (and even more so on sharing photos), but I should have some available to share early this coming week.

Today I say goodbye to the Northeast, head through the Delaware Water Gap and will spend part of the week in Pennsylvania.

The people I have met with and caught up with along the way have been inspiring and shown great hospitality. I am very thankful to them for making this sabbatical so successful.

As the countdown clock on the side of my blog indicates, there is less than one month until my peregrinations begin.   My itinerary needs to be updated, and there are a few more land trusts I still need to contact, but for the most part everything is falling into place.

Each of the land trusts I have contacted has been wonderfully enthusiastic about my plans to visit with them.   My coworkers have also been very helpful and supportive (but maybe they are just happy to get rid of me for two months).

Yesterday I recorded my first interview with Jessica Schley.   Jessica is an American Studies and Conservation and Resource Studies double major at UC Berkeley.   Her internship was with the Public Policy department here at the Alliance.   She has a powerful passion for land conservation that emanates from her connection to her family’s ranch in California.

After talking with her, she turned the tables and asked me a number of questions.

I plan to get the podcast up this weekend.

I get nervous when I share my sabbatical plans with others these days.

Why? Because often people will have a list of land trusts that I just have to visit. There are just so many great land trusts out there, and everyone wants to add their favorite(s) to my list.

I could spend my entire sabbatical visiting just one region (or in some cases just one state) and still not get to meet with all the great land trusts in the area. But of course I set an ambitious schedule for myself to get from Maine to Montana. That means there is a lot of driving that takes away from my time visiting land trust (and, regrettably, adds to my carbon footprint). It does allow me to visit some places that are important to me, and to meet with a large variety of land trusts along the way.

My plans are coming together, so please keep an eye on my itinerary.

So I apologize if I don’t make it to your land trust, or to your favorite land trust.

This is a blog about traveling across America, to help preserve the land in its natural state, and save it for future generations to enjoy.