Recently, the US Fish and Wildlife Service changed its stance and proposed the Eastern hellbender as an endangered species. 

Our state amphibian, the hellbender is our country’s largest salamander and needs clean water to survive. It has lost upwards of 95 percent of its habitat in the Susquehanna River watershed due to pollution, sedimentation and other issues.
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Nationally, public comment is accepted until Feb. 11, 2025, before the final decision is made on protections. Help us give this vulnerable clean water indicator species a voice.

Riverkeeper's note: The following column was written by Northern Tier Regional Director Emily Shosh. She can be contacted via email by clicking here.

As each year draws to a close, a common ritual commences. We reflect, give thanks, and conjure up hope for what’s to come next. We also may gripe over the year’s onslaught of burden, loss, and struggles.

Yet, what is there to do besides to keep on searching for fulfilment and peace? 

Rituals, whether sacred or secular, set the tone of our lives. For instance, many of us throughout the Middle Susquehanna likely planned a first day hike to ring in the New Year, or a midnight excursion by moonlight. Whatever the practice, we seek a moment to “reset” and become more grounded. The natural world perhaps serves as one of the most important tools in this quest, offering us moments of calm introspection and observation. ​

​On Monday, Jan. 6, 2025. the Middle Susquehanna Riverkeeper Association hosted its first of three free winter webinars.

The first ‘Riverkeeper Roundtable’ webinar featured Jennifer Farabaugh, Chesapeake Bay Watershed Manager of Western Pennsylvania Conservancy (WPC), who spoke about Juniata Forward: Building on 25 Years of Conservation. This document is a comprehensive plan to continue conservation efforts within the Juniata watershed. 

The plan is a collaborative effort between WPC, a robust 28-member steering committee, and stakeholders within the watershed. Three public meetings for feedback were held in 2024, and comments were collected through Oct. 31, 2024.

In preparation for the 2025 Songs of the Susquehanna submission deadline of Jan. 31, the Middle Susquehanna Riverkeeper Association is hosting an online Songs of the Susquehanna Webinar on Monday, Jan. 13, 2025, starting at 7 p.m.

The program will include Middle Susquehanna Riverkeeper John Zaktansky giving an overview of the project, how it began and what sort of response it has received over the past four years. It will also include potential ideas for new songs and an overview of the special Vol. 5 Greatest Hits album planned for this year.

Musicians Don Shappelle and Jack Servello along with lyricist Bill Dann will be involved in the webinar, each offering insight in how they develop songs and answering questions on how turn ideas into potential submissions. There will also be discussion about a recording studio option in Milton for those that may need that resource.

Riverkeeper note: The following column was written by Middle Susquehanna Riverkeeper John Zaktansky. You can contact him via email at [email protected]

When I started my role as Middle Susquehanna Riverkeeper back in early 2020, one of the first people from the community to reach out and offer support and help me learn the ropes was David Staebler, who I quickly associated (to me, at least) as the face of the Buffalo Creek Watershed Alliance. 

Obviously, there are many important people behind that vital association, but David just had a special place in my heart. He would always make it a point to walk up to me at shows and events with a smile and genuinely ask how it was going. For most people, that question is a formality -- for him, it was obvious he actually wanted to know how things were and chat some about various waterway topics and issues. 

So, earlier today when I saw the email that David had passed away on New Years Day, it hit a little harder than most news I receive in my inbox.

​Riverkeeper note: The following story was compiled by and written by Middle Susquehanna Riverkeeper John Zaktansky. He can be contacted via email at [email protected]

When the US Fish and Wildlife Service announced on Dec. 12, 2024, that it formally would propose an endangered status for the Eastern Hellbender, the news caught many off-guard, including Lycoming College Clean Water Institute Director and hellbender researcher Matthew Kaunert.

“I was just talking to my PhD advisor, asking him if he felt this was really going to ever happen, and he said it wasn’t likely, especially with the new administration coming in,” Kaunert said. “But then, the news broke, and I was amazed.”

Peter Petokas, who has studied hellbenders in the Susquehanna River watershed for more than a decade, agreed that the heightened status was beyond his expectations, and an indicator of just how bad the species’ situation has become.

A year ago, the Middle Susquehanna Riverkeeper Association kicked off 2024 with a poem. 

Our association's mission has always been to protect and promote the health and vibrancy of the Susquehanna River, its tributaries and the life that depends on our clean-water resources across an 11,000-square-mile watershed. How we do that comes in all different forms, flavors and frames.

This past year, the frame of choice ... to be a voice for the vulnerable. As we shared in the poem announcing that theme for this year, the vulnerable in our watershed come in many shapes and sizes. Eastern hellbenders, bald eagles, frog eggs, homeowners with flaming faucets near fracking wells, blotchy bass, people who could be victims of irresponsible industry and abandoned mine drainage impacts. 

The Middle Susquehanna Riverkeeper Association partnered with Susquehanna University for another fish rescue and research opportunity on Dec. 19, 2024, rescuing a total of 263 fish, including numerous eels, smallmouth bass and other species, after extended rainy weather led to an overflow of the Susquehanna River into the new fish passageway at the Adam T. Bower Memorial Dam near Shamokin Dam. 

This was in addition to a similar effort on Nov. 27, 2024, when more than 600 fish were captured, recorded and released into the nearby river.

The passageway is designed to only flow with water when the inflatable dam bags are filled for the summer or, in the offseason, when the river rises enough from high-water events to overflow into the passageway. Prior to Dec. 19, the passageway had been flowing with river water for five consecutive days before subsiding, stranding a new set of fish in various pools built into the passageway as rest stops. 

After an extremely busy year of programs, protections and promotions, taking a short pause during the holiday season offers a vital opportunity to reflect, bask in the blessings of our donors and volunteers and look ahead to what will be an important 2025 -- our association's 10th anniversary.

Thankfully, lyricist and poet Bill Dann captures the essence of that pausing period of reflection told through the lens of the Susquehanna River via his Songs of the Susquehanna 2021 submission "Susquehanna Silent Night." Check out the piece in the following video, compiled by Michael Kinney. Lyrics are shared below the video.