Aug. 10 Floating Classroom session focused on common fish species and the threats they face in our region

"I boarded the Hiawatha knowing very little about the fish species in our area, and left knowing quite a bit," admitted one mother via an exit survey after the Tuesday, Aug. 10, Floating Classroom session aboard the Hiawatha Paddleboat near Williamsport.

The program, provided via the Middle Susquehanna Riverkeeper Association, included two presentations -- an upper-level look at warmer water species via taxidermy mounts and discussion led by Montour Preserve naturalist Jon Beam, and a cold-water focus via Fish and Boat Commission Waterway Conservation Officer Darrell Miller on the lower level of the Hiawatha.

Facts that stood out to families, as shared on surveys, included that trout are related to salmon, various tips on how to distinguish between similar fish species, tips about safely catching and releasing fish, that the fish and boat commission stocks more than 5 million trout annually and some of the negative impacts humans have on fish species via pollution, rock cairns and other practices.

Several other Floating Classroom sessions are scheduled over the next six weeks. Find out more about the programs here.

A short video overview from the session, along with a photo gallery from the hour-long cruise: