​The following post was written by Middle Susquehanna Riverkeeper Association summer intern Jay Schofield. Send a message to Jay via email by clicking here.

Innovative approaches to ecosystem restoration are emerging across the USA, and one standout initiative is the Beaver Dam Analog (BDA) project.

Led by Matt Wilson at Susquehanna University's Freshwater Research Institute in Selinsgrove, Pennsylvania, BDAs are dams made to mimic those made by beavers. These dams are strategically placed along fast-running streams to combat erosion and restore groundwater levels.

​“We’ve got a lot of stormwater runoff that comes in at the edge of Susquehanna’s property upstream, and we wanted to better capture that,” Wilson said. “These dams will slow flow down, and because they’re made of sticks and stones, they will let water pass through the middle during a big storm.”

Nearly 50 people participated in the July 16, 2024, Floating Classroom aboard the Hiawatha Paddleboat in Williamsport hosted by the Middle Susquehanna Riverkeeper Association.

The theme was focused on the Louisiana Waterthrush, general birding and citizen science. Presenters included West Branch Regional Director Andrew Bechdel on the lower level with an overview of the Louisiana Waterthrush and the characteristics that make it an important waterway indicator and how people can be valuable citizen scientists. 

Shortly after the conclusion of the July 10, 2024, West Branch version of the Middle Susquehanna Riverkeeper Association's HERYN (Helping Engage our River's Youth with Nature) program at the Bald Eagle State Park near Howard, PA, Kate Elias, of State College, couldn't resist thanking Regional Director Andrew Bechdel for providing the experience.

"Eleanor and Peter just got home," she shared in an email about her daughter and son. "They had SUCH a great time! Thank you so very much!"

They were among the dozen students who participated in the first expansion of the original HERYN experience offered at the 1,000-acre Foster Joseph Sayers Reservoir, a popular boating, fishing and swimming destination in Centre County. 

More than 50 people participated in the Martens and other Mammals Floating Classroom on July 9, 2024, aboard the Hiawatha Paddleboat in Williamsport. 

The program included an overview of the American Marten, a species long missing from our state's forests and one recently considered for reintroduction by the PA Game Commission, by Tom Keller, a biologist for the agency who has been studying the species and leading the reintroduction analysis.

​A total of 84 young people ages 8-13 participated across six Middle Susquehanna Riverkeeper Association HERYN (Helping Engage our River’s Youth with Nature) kayaking and fishing day camp programs at the Central PA Wesleyan campground.
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"I learned new ways to cast and fish and had never kayaked before today," said Maddie Maxwell, age 12, of Watsontown, in an exit survey.

“Maddie absolutely loved it! She said it was very fun and she would do it a million times,” said her mother, Lindsy, a few days later via email. “She greatly enjoyed the fishing and liked the chance to actually fish in the lake. Thank you for putting on a fantastic program and we look forward to being involved in future events.”

​Riverkeeper note: The following story and podcast package was created/written by Middle Susquehanna Riverkeeper John Zaktansky. You can contact him directly here.

Much more active than originally anticipated, freshwater sculpin instinctively swim upstream when threatened by thermal changes in headwater environments even when cooler water options are not accessible according to a study by recent Susquehanna University graduate Danielle Tryon.

“We expected to see changes over time in their physical condition, but what we didn’t realize was that this species moves around as much as it does when stressed by water temperature changes,” said Tryon, who conducted the study over the course of a year using manmade stream channels at the university’s Freshwater Research Institute (FRI).
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“These channels are recirculating, and each is the same temperature throughout, but in channels with higher temperatures, the sculpin instinctively swam upstream to search for cooler water, which is fascinating,” said Matt Wilson, head of the FRI. “It would be easier to say they found cold water randomly and just sat there, but in these channels where temperatures were consistent across the moving water, they automatically swam upstream to look for relief. There wasn’t any randomness about it.”

Middle Susquehanna Riverkeeper John Zaktansky presented to four different rotations of kids at the 2024 Snyder and Juniata County Conservation Districts' annual Envirocamp program in Richfield on Tuesday, June 18. 

The focus of the presentation was about the Eastern hellbender. Students learned about the creature, its behaviors and some of the environmental issues it faces in our watershed. They also helped created hellbender posters for awareness, engaged with rusty crayfish and played a game designed to illustrate how hellbenders are impacted by various environmental factors.