As we wrap up the final month of 2022, it is impossible to reflect on the past year as the Middle Susquehanna Riverkeeper without a great deal ​of excitement and gratitude. 

While we remain a small nonprofit organization in the middle of a massive 11,000-square-mile watershed facing a wide variety of clean-water threats, the Middle Susquehanna Riverkeeper Association (MSRKA) continues to be intentional in its growth while maintaining its mission to promote and protect the health and vibrancy of the Susquehanna River, its tributaries and the life that depends on these aquatic resources.

Like white tufts of shaving cream floating atop bathwater toward a nearby drain, seemingly bright-white patches of foam have been a regular early morning sight on the lower Penns Creek lately.

In a May 2020 blog post, we talked about foams on waterways and how to tell when they are naturally occurring vs. when they could be a sign of pollution.

Usually, foams that have a dirty look and an earthy or fishy smell can typically be connected with natural organic matter such as fats, lipids and deteriorating leaf matter getting whipped up in rapids much like egg whites can be whipped into stiff peaks of frothy meringue.

Help support the work of the Middle Susquehanna Riverkeeper Association and show off that support by purchasing one of our newly designed T-shirts that come in one of three designs/colors.

Developed by student intern Morgan Thomas, you can choose between what we are calling our "river doodle" shirt on aqua blue, a hellbender on dark green and a trout on maroon. T-shirts cost $15 each (for those picked up at our office) or $20 for those that need to be mailed. 

​Peacefulness. 

As a teenager growing up in the late 80s and early 90s, with a full slate of responsibilities at home on the family farm and a growing list of activities in extracurricular ventures like Scouting and sports, there really isn’t a whole lot of time to be still.

Until a weekend Scout canoe trip down Pine Creek. 

Middle Susquehanna Riverkeeper Association (MSRKA) Board President Kathy Snavely was awarded the Kathleen K. Snavely Susquehanna River Environmental Advocate Award during the association's Clean Water Celebration on Oct. 15, 2022.

The award, which was developed to honor Snavely's numerous contributions to the association dating back to its 2015 founding, will be awarded annually to an individual or group that goes above and beyond in efforts to promote and protect the health and vibrancy of the Susquehanna River, its tributaries and its watershed.​

Elevated levels of certain PFAS compounds were found in the Williamsport area of the West Branch of the Susquehanna River as part of a groundbreaking new analysis of American waterways released today (Oct. 18, 2022). The study sounds the alarm on a PFAS pollution emergency via the report titled Invisible, Unbreakable, Unnatural: PFAS Contamination of U.S. Surface Waters.

PFAS are a group of manmade chemicals that all share some sort of fluorinated compound. These per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances are widely linked to serious public health and environmental impacts and more commonly called "forever chemicals."

In late June, the Middle Susquehanna Riverkeeper Association collected an upstream sample from the deck of the Hiawatha Paddleboat at its dock just above the city and a downstream sample from the Greevy Boat Ramp as a part of a nationwide PFAS testing program conducted by the Waterkeeper Alliance and Cyclopure laboratories.

Out of 114 waterways tested across the country, 83 percent were found to contain at least one type of PFAS compound.

Middle Susquehanna Riverkeeper John Zaktansky was named to the City & State Magazine's ​2022 Pennsylvania Nonprofit Power 100, a list developed to "recognize the nonprofit leaders serving the most vulnerable people in Pennsylvania," according to the magazine.

In its introduction to the piece, City & State lists numerous hurdles that nonprofits have needed to navigate over the past few years, adding: ​"The organizations featured in our 2022 Nonprofit Power 100 have triumphed in their efforts to provide everything from cash assistance to legal representation, food deliveries to waterways protection despite the constraint on fundraisers, reduced government funding and declining philanthropic support."

Three-year-old Weston Horst, of Lancaster, peered with fascination through a bright green plastic ring holding a magnifying lens over a tiny macroinvertebrate bug.

About 50 yards downstream along the bank of Bull Run, several dozen people sat on stumps and rocks in the nature play area of Lewisburg's Kidsburg Park to hear presenters talk about the award-winning stream restoration and naturalization project.

Meanwhile, between those two events, three Selinsgrove Cub Scouts (Liam Crames and William and Matthew Pugh) helped hide prizes in a large playground for a scavenger hunt that drew nearly 30 kids.

A few hours later, a line of people walked Lewisburg's Campus Theatre's red carpet for an exclusive screening of the documentary "American River" with filmmaker Scott Morris and five regional river experts discussing the film and answering questions about major issues threatening our watershed.

These were just some of the opportunities to learn more about our river, connect with groups that share a passion for our aquatic resources and discover how to get involved and make a difference via the Middle Susquehanna Riverkeeper Association's Clean Water Celebration on Oct. 15, 2022, in downtown Lewisburg.