Riverkeeper reflections |
Middle Susquehanna Riverkeeper Assoc. in 2024: A year of providing a voice for the vulnerable12/31/2024  A year ago, the Middle Susquehanna Riverkeeper Association kicked off 2024 with a poem.
Our association's mission has always been to protect and promote the health and vibrancy of the Susquehanna River, its tributaries and the life that depends on our clean-water resources across an 11,000-square-mile watershed. How we do that comes in all different forms, flavors and frames. This past year, the frame of choice ... to be a voice for the vulnerable. As we shared in the poem announcing that theme for this year, the vulnerable in our watershed come in many shapes and sizes. Eastern hellbenders, bald eagles, frog eggs, homeowners with flaming faucets near fracking wells, blotchy bass, people who could be victims of irresponsible industry and abandoned mine drainage impacts.
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More than 250 fish rescued in Dec. 19 study of pools in passageway by Adam T. Bower Memorial Dam12/31/2024  The Middle Susquehanna Riverkeeper Association partnered with Susquehanna University for another fish rescue and research opportunity on Dec. 19, 2024, rescuing a total of 263 fish, including numerous eels, smallmouth bass and other species, after extended rainy weather led to an overflow of the Susquehanna River into the new fish passageway at the Adam T. Bower Memorial Dam near Shamokin Dam.
This was in addition to a similar effort on Nov. 27, 2024, when more than 600 fish were captured, recorded and released into the nearby river. The passageway is designed to only flow with water when the inflatable dam bags are filled for the summer or, in the offseason, when the river rises enough from high-water events to overflow into the passageway. Prior to Dec. 19, the passageway had been flowing with river water for five consecutive days before subsiding, stranding a new set of fish in various pools built into the passageway as rest stops. The Middle Susquehanna Riverkeeper Association wishes everyone a "Susquehanna Silent Night"12/24/2024  After an extremely busy year of programs, protections and promotions, taking a short pause during the holiday season offers a vital opportunity to reflect, bask in the blessings of our donors and volunteers and look ahead to what will be an important 2025 -- our association's 10th anniversary.
Thankfully, lyricist and poet Bill Dann captures the essence of that pausing period of reflection told through the lens of the Susquehanna River via his Songs of the Susquehanna 2021 submission "Susquehanna Silent Night." Check out the piece in the following video, compiled by Michael Kinney. Lyrics are shared below the video.  A lifelong angler, Jamie SanFilippo grew up around water. As a child, Jamie spent time cobbling together and reconfiguring old rods and reels and flipping over rocks in her local stream.
Today, she owns and operates her own fly-fishing guiding service, American Fly Fishing Company. In her work, Jamie takes clients fishing for Brook Trout, Rainbow Trout and Wild Brown Trout along Upper Penns Creek, Bald Eagle Creek and Spring Creek.  The US Fish and Wildlife Service announced on Dec. 12, 2024, that it is proposing listing the Eastern hellbender as endangered nationally in response to a petition from several non-governmental organizations in an agency press release.
 In the midst of navigating numerous life changes five years ago, including a move from Danville to Riverside, Alyssa Maddalena and her then-2-year-old daughter began a daily routine of greeting the Susquehanna River each time they crossed the bridge between towns.
“If it was in the morning, we’d simply welcome it with a ‘Good morning, Susquehanna,’ or if we had to run an errand and cross over the bridge at night, we’d say: ‘Good evening, Susquehanna,’” she said. “As my daughter got older, we continued to be drawn to the river and did more and more adventures there.” Last winter, Maddalena decided to compile some of those memories with her daughter from along the river into what has become a children’s book that released on Nov. 29 titled “Good Morning, Susquehanna.”  Middle Susquehanna Riverkeeper John Zaktansky relays a net full of fish from Susquehanna University's Dan Ressler to a nearby bucket during an electrofishing pool study and rescue project near Sunbury. More than 600 fish were rescued from several small pools left in the fish passageway around the Adam T. Bower Memorial Dam on Nov. 27, 2024, by members of the Middle Susquehanna Riverkeeper Association in partnership with Sara Ashcraft and Dan Ressler of Susquehanna University.
“When they built the new passageway around the Fabridam, there were four pools added for fish to have resting spots in what typically is a faster moving channel,” said Middle Susquehanna Riverkeeper John Zaktansky. “However, when the bags are deflated in the offseason, the water no longer flows through the channel, and it left some pools disconnected from the river the fish stranded.” Instead of just attempting to catch and release them back into the river, Zaktansky felt it was a good opportunity to partner with Susquehanna University for research and education. DCNR botanist: Protecting habitat for rare wetland plants critical as certain populations struggle12/4/2024  DCNR Botanist Chris Firestone is shown clipping cattails. Riverkeeper note: The following story was written by Northern Tier Regional Director Emily Shosh. She can be contacted via email by clicking here.
“I’ve always loved plants and what roles they bear in the ecosystem, and what they represent,” said DCNR Bureau of Forestry Botanist -- a role she has held for nearly three decades. Firestone first began her career as a wetland delineator, in which she located and measured wetlands for the purpose of complying with the Clean Water Act and other local, state and federal regulations. “Over the years we’ve learned the number of acres of wetlands has decreased, so protecting the habitat for wetland plants is important, such as vernal pools containing the Northeastern Bulrush,” she said. 2025 calendar offers key dates to connect with nature, tips for journaling and citizen science12/2/2024  The Middle Susquehanna Riverkeeper Association and Vernal School Environmental Education Partnership are releasing the 2025 Naturalist Calendar.
It includes numerous dates related to wildlife, plants and other species that will enhance your ability to connect with nature. Sunrise/sunset times, moon phases, meteor showers, historical facts, special species awareness days and much more. This year's calendar also includes a page dedicated to citizen science information, how you can observe and collect data that can help improve awareness and educate others. There is also a page devoted to nature journaling with tips on how to get the most from your time outdoors. |
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
December 2025
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