 In this image taken by The Williamsport Sun-Gazette's Phil Holmes shows a tanker truck that crashed on May 24 along Larry's Creek. The driver died in the collision and the brine from the tank drained into the creek. On May 24, a tanker truck carrying gas well pad brine crashed near Salladasburg along Larry's Creek, killing the driver.
According to news reports from the Williamsport Sun-Gazette, the tank remained intact but the collision punctured a hole in it, allowing the brine to drain into Larrys Creek. Alerted to the situation by a concerned citizen, the Middle Susquehanna Riverkeeper Association reached out to the regional office of the Department of Environmental Protection to determine the potential impact on the aquatic ecosystem. Community Relations Director Megan Lehman provided the following update:
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 Few learning experiences can rival an environmental education-focused cruise aboard Williamsport’s Hiawatha Paddleboat, an ideal venue to learn important aquatic topics while paddling up and down the Susquehanna’s West Branch.
“I really liked looking down into the water from the boat and thinking about what was down there besides fish,” said now 13-year-old Cerafina McKee after she and her family attended one of the Middle Susquehanna Riverkeeper Association’s seven Floating Classrooms last summer.  A graduate of Lock Haven University’s recreation management program, Andrew Bechdel continues to find ways to connect people with the outdoors – a passion personally sparked in him by family experiences as a child.
“Growing up, my family didn’t really go on vacations to amusement parks or anything like that. We were always taking weekend trips and vacations to state parks and national parks,” he said. “Hiking with my parents, especially my dad, was such a big part of who we were as a family and who I was. I always enjoyed being in the woods and the solitude it gave me.” Column: Unanswered questions about this hot-button topic loom large heading into PA governor race5/16/2022  Riverkeeper's note: The following is a column by Middle Susquehanna Riverkeeper John Zaktansky concerning the May 2022 primaries. Opinions shared in this column are those of the individual author.
'Twas the night before primaries, and all through PA Candidates scurried, pleading their case Except for that moment that rendered them silent Asked four simple questions about the environment … In case you missed the televised debate, an influx of mail (both electronic and snail), and the neighborhood’s redecoration efforts via red, white and blue campaign signs – today is the May 2022 primary. It marks the next big step toward choosing our next governor along with a variety of other important offices.  A rising junior this summer at Susquehanna University, northern New Jersey native Peyton Curley is excited to assist the Middle Susquehanna Riverkeeper Association with a full slate of initiatives and programs this summer.
We chat with her in the newest episode of the Middle Susquehanna Riverkeeper Podcast about her background, what drew her to Susquehanna University and our watershed and why she is so passionate about our environmental resources.  A former award-winning journalist with The Daily Item newspaper in Sunbury, Middle Susquehanna Riverkeeper John Zaktansky uses his writing skills to engage, educate and empower people throughout the watershed about important aquatic issues that threaten our state's constitutional right to pure water.
Three of Zaktansky's environmentally focused columns from 2021 recently won a Keystone state journalism award for sports/outdoors writing. The three columns, judged as one entry, included:  The next Nature Book Club meeting is May 23 at 7 p.m. at Shikellamy State Park. (Note that the May meeting is NOT on the usual last Monday of every-other month to avoid Memorial Day.)
The book up for discussion is The Golden Spruce: A True Story of Myth, Madness, and Greed by John Vaillant. According to a synopsis for the book: "When a shattered kayak and camping gear are found on an island, they reignite a mystery of a protest. Five months earlier, Grant Hadwin jumped into a river towing a chainsaw. When his work was done, a unique 165-foot Sitka spruce covered with luminous golden needles, teetered on its stump. Two days later it fell."  The Songs of the Susquehanna: Volume 2 CD is available now at the Middle Susquehanna Riverkeeper Association office at 112 Market Street, Sunbury. An online download of the album will be available in the near future.
You can pre-order your copy of Songs of the Susquehanna: Volume 2 for $15 (it can be picked up in person at the Riverkeeper's Sunbury office or mailed to your address). If you would like to purchase a Volume 1 (2021) and Volume 2 (2022) two-pack of CDs, the cost is $25. Public encourged to be mindful of water draws on smaller streams, reach out with concerns, questions5/1/2022  A local landscaping company pulled several 700-gallon tanks of water from this small stream in one day for a nearby hydroseeding project. While not a violation, it is recommended that groups mindfully pull water from larger bodies of water when possible. A tiny waterway – more a trickle than a stream – winds down through an under-road culvert at the intersection for a small Snyder County community.
A few scattered populations of minnows and macroinvertebrates share the tiny channel un-interrupted until a hose is lowered into the stream from a roadside truck and water is drawn into an approximately 700-gallon tank to be used for a nearby hydroseeding project. The truck returned for several additional water draws from the same stream later that day. |
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
September 2024
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