​While other kids raced to claim their favorite kayaks, paddles and life jackets before the others, Ramona Kroll walked slowly and deliberately along the edge of the lake at the Central PA Wesleyan Campground near New Columbia during the Middle Susquehanna Riverkeeper Association’s HERYN (Helping Engage our River’s Youth with Nature) kayak and fishing day programs.

Then, quickly, she darted down and scooped up a small frog before it could jump into the water.

Through three summers, we have served hundreds of kids at our HERYN program, and each one brings different interests, skills, personality, and, for some, even emotional baggage.

But, for Ramona, the unique perspective she added to this year’s program was her keen fascination for everything reptile and amphibian. From the snakes on the T-shirt she wore to early morning registration to her specialized radar for finding these species at the campground that day, it was a cool experience.

During the Sept. 12, 2023, Floating Classroom aboard the Hiawatha Paddleboat in Williamsport, former board treasurer and secretary Ann Fisher and her husband, Warren, received the inaugural 2022 Middle Susquehanna Riverkeeper Association President's Award from former president Kathy Snavely.

"Despite Ann’s protests, it is my deep privilege - with 500 percent board approval - to award the first President’s Award to Ann and Warren Fisher, for their tireless commitment and dedication to the MSRKA," said Snavely during the presentation. 

"When our first Riverkeeper gave us her one-month notice (in late 2019), Ann Fisher and I weren’t remotely prepared. We were, at the time, President and Secretary/Treasurer of a very small board of directors. Ann and I worked through every issue together, and there were some pretty monumental issues," said Snavely. "She was instrumental in the hiring process for John Zaktansky back in 2020, helped shape and mentor a new team of leaders for the association and she and Warren have been invaluable assets in fundraising for the association's work, as well."

​Riverkeeper's note: This is the general press release issued as an alert to today's update. Our association is working on a localized update on this story and will be sharing it out as soon as possible. Check back for more information. If you have any questions, you can contact Riverkeeper John Zaktansky at midsusriver@gmail.com or 570-768-6300.
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In response to a lawsuit filed by five conservation groups, including the Middle Susquehanna Riverkeeper Association, a federal judge found today -- Wednesday, Sept. 6, 2023, that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s 2019 denial of Endangered Species Act protection for the eastern hellbender salamander was arbitrary and unlawful.

District Judge Lewis J. Liman set aside the Service’s decision and instructed the agency to make a new decision consistent with law.
 
“This ruling is a lifesaving victory for hellbenders and their declining freshwater habitats,” said Elise Bennett, a senior attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity. “The Fish and Wildlife Service can no longer ignore overwhelming scientific evidence that hellbenders are in danger of extinction and face even greater threats ahead. These odd and charming salamanders can survive, but they desperately need the help of the Endangered Species Act.”

More than 50 people, including families and younger children, participated in the Middle Susquehanna Riverkeeper Association's Sept. 5, 2023, Floating Classroom aboard the Hiawatha. 

The theme was "Secret Life Inside our Fish" and included a fish dissection by Jeremy Harper and Brandon Forsythe of Penn State University on the lower level with several large trout.

Ninety-eight registered Scouts and additional young people curious about Scouting attended the Scout River Ecology Day on Aug. 19, 2023, at the Shikellamy State Park near Sunbury. 

The program, a collaboration between the Middle Susquehanna Riverkeeper Association, Susquehanna Council BSA and the Shikellamy State Park, ran from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and included a morning trash pickup service project followed by a rotation through eight stations about various elements of the aquatic ecosystem and how they interact with each other.

The Aug. 22, 2023, Floating Classroom aboard the Hiawatha Paddleboat near Williamsport drew a wide variety of people for sessions on identifying various types of bird calls and learning how those calls may be used to better monitor stream health.

Dr. Mary Morrison, of Lycoming College, and Bonalyn Mosteller, both representing the Lycoming College Audubon Society, ran the upstairs presentation on common bird calls and how to identify them.

The lower-level discussion was led by Middle Susquehanna Riverkeeper John Zaktansky and Assistant Research Professor at Penn State, Brandon Forsythe, on the association's Birdnet project.

​​Deep within core samples taken this summer from an unnamed Susquehanna River island near Beach Haven (just north of Berwick in Luzerne County), Dr. Jennifer Elick and two of her Susquehanna University students discovered an unexpected cocktail of components.

In addition to some minerals likely delivered by glaciers, they found anthracite coal, hematite, shale chips, coke, magnetic glass and iron oxyhydroxide – elements found regularly in coal waste.

“The magnetic glass is the kind of thing that forms inside of furnaces associated with burning coal. Iron oxyhydroxide are the little chips that form as a precipitate from acid mine drainage – that material is ripped up during floods and transported downstream,” said Elick. “All of that along with magnetite and metal from industrial waste – it was all mixed into this sand and gave us a new perspective as to the sources of the sediment and composition of the island itself.”

Fifty people participated in the Artifacts and Logging History Floating Classroom aboard the Hiawatha Paddleboat near Williamsport on Tuesday, August 8, 2023. 

Kim Mattern, an advocational archeologist and curator of the Snyder County Museum, presented on the lower level about Native American artifacts and culture along the Susquehanna River basin.