Nearly 50 people participated in the Sept. 23, 2025, Floating Classroom hosted by the Middle Susquehanna Riverkeeper Association aboard the Hiawatha Paddleboat near Williamsport. 

The event featured an upper-level presentation by West Branch Regional Director Andrew Bechdel on hawkwatch looking for migrating hawks and other key bird species. The lower-level session was conducted by Julia Plummer and Joseph Gyekis about various tech used for birding.

The Middle Susquehanna Riverkeeper Association and Vernal School Environmental Education Partnership is part of the 2025 Boscov's Friend Helping Friends campaign.

For a $5 donation, you get a shopping pass worth up to 25 percent off your purchase on Wednesday, Oct. 22, 2025, at Boscov's.

​Purchase your pass below and pick it up at our 112 Market Street, Sunbury PA office or at the Shamokin Dam Boscovs on Oct. 22, 2025.

​While the Montour Preserve may lack the scenic views of Kinzua Bridge State Park or density of majestic waterfalls of a venue such as Ricketts Glen State Park, longtime naturalist and environmental educator Jon Beam suggested the privately owned facility in northern Montour County does provide a very unique feature.

“I always said that Montour Preserve had nothing special in the way of habitats, but what made Montour Preserve special was that it had a wide variety of habitats,” he said. “From pine stands to deciduous woods to old fields, to grassy open areas to transitional stage shrub habitat, and, of course, the lake, ponds and some wetland areas.

“In just under 1,000 acres, that is quite a variety in habitat types and I think that is what makes the property so attractive to such a wide variety of birds and other wildlife.”

In a Sept. 11, 2025, inspection report by the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) of the Eureka Services' Second Street facility where an Aug. 17 spill led to fracking wastewater working its way out of a storage container, through a building and eventually into the nearby Susquehanna River's West Branch, the agency claims that 8,424 gallons of fluid has been recovered via cleanup efforts since the incident was reported.

The report suggests that "basically all of the oil that was captured within the building has now been collected and tallied."

Also according to the report, the facility has calculated that 11,430 gallons of fracking waste was released from the N3 tank during the spill, meaning that 3,000 gallons have not been recovered. DEP states in the report that it hasn't reviewed the spill total calculations, so these numbers "should be treated as preliminary estimates."

Cat Pugh and Erin Trouba, educators with the Penn State Extension office, presented to nearly 50 people aboard the Hiawatha Paddleboat on Tuesday, Sept. 9, 2025, about riparian buffers and various plant species that can be used successfully in those environments for a Floating Classroom program hosted by the Middle Susquehanna Riverkeeper Association.

Trouba led the lower-level discussion on riparian buffers overview, their importance and had people check out the riverside to compare different buffers during the boat ride. Upstairs, Pugh shared a wide variety of different species that can be used to plant in buffer zones, including edible plants, those that can be used for weaving and other crafts and more. 

​​It only takes a few seconds to ask ChatGPT to map out the best places to stop for tacos on your family’s next road trip, create a new song for the playlist during the drive or suggest the best birthday gift option for your Aunt Myrtle before you arrive at her house and where you can pick it up while avoiding rush-hour traffic.

However, each request of the artificial intelligence generated model can consume some noticeable real-life natural resources, according to Susquehanna River Basin Commission (SRBC) Executive Director Andrew Dehoff.

“If you haven’t heard the recent quip or statistic, one question to ChatGPT can consume upwards of one standard 16-ounce bottle of water,” he said.
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Which can pose a real concern for the multi-state agency that monitors and permits water withdrawal requests within the greater Susquehanna River watershed, especially as mega-companies such as Amazon, Google and Microsoft propose hyperscale data centers within the basin.