Riverkeeper reflections |
 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.
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 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.  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. Column: Buffalo Creek watershed advocate David Staebler will be missed; donations encouraged1/7/2025  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. Mosquito Creek watershed project highlights acid rain mitigation success and blueprint for others1/6/2025  The first Mosquito Creek Watershed acid rain mitigation treatment system was built at Ardell Road in 2001. Riverkeeper's note: The following blog post was written by West Branch Regional Director Andrew Bechdel. He can be reached via email by clicking here.
Long before Jacob Smith ever stepped foot in the Mosquito Creek Watershed to fish for native brook trout, the Mosquito Creek Sportsman’s Association and Terry Rightnour spearheaded a restoration project to improve their watershed impaired by acidic deposition. More than 20 years later, Smith, now a young staff engineer with the ARM group LLC, has taken the reigns of the Mosquito Creek restoration project and monitoring its treatment systems. Smith first heard about the Mosquito Creek restoration project while studying acid deposition abatement on Bowman’s Creek (Wyoming County) at Wilkes University in Northeastern Pennsylvania. “I kept hearing about this project on Mosquito Creek that had been completed, I ended up reaching out to Terry Rightnour who completed the project … that was how my role started here at the ARM group," said Smith, whose experience with acidic deposition mitigation as an undergrad made him a good fit for the project.  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. |
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
January 2026
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