Roundtable recap: Good funder rapport, detailed reports can be key to grant writing success3/13/2025  Eric Rosengrant is the president of the Moshannon Creek Watershed Association. Riverkeeper note: The following recap of the March Riverkeeper Roundtable discussion is completed by Northern Tier Regional Director Emily Shosh.
Since 2019, the Moshannon Creek Watershed Association (MCWA) has been actively pursuing grants and partnerships to fund a variety of projects aiming to improve water quality of the Moshannon Creek Watershed. Significantly affected by abandoned mine drainage, several grants over the years have funded treatment sites, water testing, education endeavors and an official restoration plan. “The first program we applied to was the Coldwater Heritage Partnership grant, and we used it for doing the initial study of Moshannon Creek from the top to bottom to understand what’s really happening now in that watershed. Parts of it had been studied before but this was a complete report,” said Eric Skrivseth, treasurer, past president, and founder of MCWA.
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 Riverkeeper note: The following article was written by Northern Tier Regional Director Emily Shosh. You can contact her directly at [email protected]
Aaron Lewis is the newly appointed Pennsylvania Forest Conservation Coordinator, working to improve, maintain and establish grouse and woodcock habitat in Pennsylvania. “Ruffed grouse benefit from a mosaic of habitat, forest types and age classes and they require them to be pretty close in proximity,” he said, adding that his efforts with the Ruffed Grouse Society on protecting and encouraging grouse habitat protects forests, which in turn protects water quality. "The most efficient water treatment facility is a forest which is why so many municipalities in Pennsylvania own forests, and we will work with them as well,” he said.  Riverkeeper note: The following column was written by Middle Susquehanna Riverkeeper John Zaktansky, the first in a series of columns under the heading "Lessons from Nature." You can contact Zaktansky via email at [email protected]
Years ago, after a long night of work at the local newspaper, I threw in a load of laundry before heading to bed at 2:30 am when a metallic scratching noise from our oil furnace broke me out of a detergent-measuring trance. Like fingers on a chalk board, yet much more sinister, the sound came again. Screeching, scratching, razorblades on the inside of our metal stovepipe that connected the furnace with the outside chimney. What could be making that noise?  Riverkeeper note: The following review of the Feb. 10 Riverkeeper Roundtable was written by Northern Tier Regional Director Emily Shosh. She can be contacted at [email protected].
On Feb. 10, 2025, the Middle Susquehanna Riverkeeper Association hosted its second Riverkeeper Roundtable webinar, covering Watershed Volunteerism. Travis Wingard, the Penn State Extension Master Watershed Steward Coordinator of the PA Wilds Region, presented an overview of the Master Watershed program and the program’s recruitment and retention methods that have proven effective in rural areas. Wingard’s large, unique region of Master Watershed Steward (MWS) volunteers covers Elk, Cameron, Mckean, Potter, Tioga, Lycoming, Jefferson, Clearfield, Centre, Clinton, Forest and Clarion counties. The program was launched in 2013 to increase capacity for watershed protection and functions as a collaborative effort between Penn State Extension, County Conservation Districts, and local environmental organizations.  Eight-year-old Hannah Read, of Lewisburg, loved the 2024 Environmental Education Expo at the Montour Preserve so much, that she insisted that her mother bring her back for the 2025 show on Saturday, Feb. 8.
“I was so fun. I begged to come back again,” she said, adding that trips to the preserve are a regular occurrence for the family. “Sometimes, we go for my birthday to the fossil pit!” Her favorite part of this year’s show included “talking to the author of ‘Good Morning Susquehanna’ and the scavenger hunt,” she said.  Riverkeeper's note: The following column was written by Middle Susquehanna Riverkeeper John Zaktansky to run with the overview story on forest schooling in preview of the April 14-17, 2025, training in our area. You can contact him via email by clicking here.
Approximately 20 years ago, my wife and I worked at a group home for troubled adolescents. These teens came from all over the state, placed by various county Children & Youth and Juvenile Probation offices with a wide variety of abusive backstories, mental health issues, histories of behaviorally acting out, a smorgasbord of prescribed medications and conflicting therapeutic needs. Back then, a lot less was known about how to appropriately address any one of the specific needs or diagnoses that crossed the group home’s door – but especially how to manage all of these types of concerns under the same roof in different combinations.  Students take a moment to observe nature and do some journaling at the Montour Preserve during a STEM camp partnership experience with the Middle Susquehanna Riverkeeper Association, Vernal School Environmental Education Partnership and Central Susquehanna Intermediate Unit. The Middle Susquehanna Riverkeeper Association is hosting a special Forest School Teacher Institute and Naturalist training certification program April 14-17, 2025, in central Pennsylvania, featuring institute founder Dr. Jean Lomino, of Chattanooga, Tennessee.
“When I was director for the Reflection Riding Arboretum and Nature Center (Chattanooga, Tenn.), we’d have around 15,000 public school students a year for field trips, and for many, that was the one and only time during the whole school year that they were out in wild nature,” said Lomino, who served in numerous educational roles throughout her career before co-founding Tennessee’s first official forest school (Wauhatchie) in 2015. “The big difference in forest school is that it is a repeated experience – ideally every day. There are many just-forest schools where children spend the whole day outside, and many of those that incorporate a variety of standards and academics into their programs, completely outside,” she said. “Some schools can’t commit to being outside every day. Some public schools and even private schools are incorporating one day a week outside – calling it Forest Fridays. Ultimately, as more and more teachers, administrators and other leaders and parents are working together and looking for ways to help kids emotionally and physically, they are seeing that it is time in nature that provides these kinds of benefits for children.” 
Recently, on Dec. 12, 2024, the US Fish and Wildlife Service changed its stance and proposed the Eastern hellbender as an endangered species.
Nationally, public comment is accepted until 11:59 p.m. EST on Feb. 11, 2025, before the final decision is made on protections. This is your opportunity to give this vulnerable clean water indicator species a voice. With that in mind, here are some tips for public comment, as well as Middle Susquehanna Riverkeeper John Zaktansky's letter for reference and some other resources.  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. Riverkeeper Roundtable series kicks off with talks about Juniata Forward, Spring Creek Atlas efforts1/9/2025  Elyse Johnson, who helped with the Middle Susquehanna Riverkeeper Association's West Branch HERYN program this past summer, spoke during the association's first Riverkeeper Roundtable session about the Spring Creek Atlas. 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. |
AuthorsRiverkeeper John Zaktansky is an award-winning journalist and avid promoter of the outdoors who loves camping, kayaking, fishing and hunting with the family. Archives
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