​Our Middle Susquehanna Naturalist Calendar again offers a year's worth of nature-related dates, facts and other information to help better connect you to our natural resources. This includes expected sunrise and sunsets, moon phases, certain meteor showers, when various species are expected to be more active, wildflowers blooming, etc.

Included are ways for you to make and submit reports about your observations that can be used for citizen science, tips for nature journaling and information about the Middle Susquehanna Riverkeeper Association and Vernal School Environmental Education Partnership.

​The 20-mile-long Chillisquaque Creek may not be the largest Pennsylvania River of the Year finalist, but the tributary of the Susquehanna's West Branch is definitely symbolic of the greater river basin’s history, issues and potential to overcome those challenges with creative collaborative solutions, according to Middle Susquehanna Riverkeeper John Zaktansky.

“Many times, you look at the bigger Susquehanna River and can quickly get overwhelmed with the scale and scope of everything that needs to be done. However, when you focus on a snapshot like the Chillisquaque Creek and the key partners and resources available in this area, then recognition of something like River of the Year truly can make a difference,” he said. “We can showcase some incredible work that already has been done, shine a light on some of the bigger issues and how to maybe look at them a little differently and breathe life and key awareness into the groups and individuals that deserve a jolt of fresh air.”

The creek joins the Conestoga River and Lower Schuylkill River as the three finalists for the 2026 Pennsylvania River of the Year award. Voting is open through Jan. 16, 2026, with the winning waterway receiving specialized awareness and funding for a sojourn and other key projects and events.

​Sean Reese, Program Scientist of the Watershed Sciences and Engineering Program at Bucknell University's Center for Sustainability and the Environment has lived in the greater Chillisquaque Creek watershed community for many years.

​Recently proposed changes to the national Endangered Species Act could have devastating consequences to some of the most vulnerable species by weighing their value – and that of their habitat – against “economic impacts,” “national security” and other ambiguous and hard-to-scientifically quantify variables, according to various local environmental experts.

The Department of the Interior’s U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced on Nov. 19, 2025, four specific rules that would alter how the Endangered Species Act is implemented in an effort “to strengthen American energy independence, improve regulatory predictability and ensure federal actions align with the best reading of the law” according to a press release from the federal agency.

Public comment is encouraged on these proposed changes through Dec. 22, 2025, by going to each of the following four links:

• Endangered and Threatened Species: Listing Endangered and Threatened Species and Designating Critical Habitat
  
• Endangered and Threatened Species: Interagency Cooperation
  
• Endangered and Threatened Species: Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants
  
• Endangered and Threatened Species: Critical Habitat​

“The proposed changes to the Endangered Species Act could have devastating consequences for listed species by weakening federal protections,” said Amber Wiewel, of Hawk Mountain Sanctuary and Pennsylvania’s Bird Atlas Coordinator. “These changes will create loopholes that industry groups would use to their advantage to prioritize development and other economic factors at the expense of some of our most vulnerable plants and animals.”

Montour County solicitor Mike Dennehy responded via email on Nov. 24, 2025, to the Middle Susquehanna Riverkeeper Association's letter submitted at the Nov. 18, 2025, Montour County Commissioner meeting, concerning details for a rezoning hearing for Talen Energy, which requested parcels of land currently zoned agricultural and semi-public be rezoned industrial.

The hearing "is a legislative hearing, not a quasi-judicial hearing," he shared. An agenda will be shared on the county's website well in advance of the hearing, which was scheduled for Dec. 17, 2025, but will now be postponed until late January 2026 after county commissioners unanimously voted on Nov. 25, 2025, to move it after a request earlier that morning from Talen Energy's attorney, Erich Shock. A reason for postponing the hearing was not provided.
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According to Dennehy, when the hearing does happen, there will be a record made of it, and the comments and recommendations received from the Anthony Township Supervisors and the Montour County Planning Commission will be placed into the record at the hearing.

The Middle Susquehanna Riverkeeper Association submitted a public request for better clarification on the definition for the Dec. 17 public hearing/meeting of Talen Energy and the Montour County commissioners in relation to a rezoning request impacting upwards of 1,300 acres from agricultural to industrial use.

​The request came via a letter handed to each of the commissioners during their monthly meeting on Nov. 18, 2025, with a short verbal explanation of what was in the letter, that it would be asking for a true definition of whether this would be a public meeting, a quasi-judicial hearing or some other sort of gathering and how that was defined under the state's Municipalities Planning Code (MPC).

That definition would then, per the MPC, dictate how people can participate in the meeting so that their voices are heard and properly added to the record. It was explained that in the letter, additional concern was shared about the concept of pre-submitted written comments and questions and that the MPC doesn't define these under things like quasi-judicial hearings and there was concern those voices would not be included. 

​Eureka Resources started removing wastewater from its Second Street, Williamsport, site on Monday, Oct. 27, 2025, according to Dustan Karschner, Environmental Protection Specialist with the Department of Environmental Protection.

According to his inspection report, Karschner had stopped in for a follow-up inspection of the site to find out that three truck loads of fracking waste water were departing that morning for disposal with a total of up to six truckloads per day planned to be removed moving forward, transporting the wastewater to Kleese Disposal in Ohio, which is a permitted disposal site.

Nearly 50 people participated in the final Middle Susquehanna Riverkeeper Association Floating Classroom of the 2025 season on Oct. 14, 2025, aboard the Hiawatha Paddleboat. 

The program, Trees and Trout, featured a presentation by arborist and Rider Park manager Sara Street on trees that can be found along waterways in our river basin. The other floor explored how those trees directly impact trout via macroinvertebrates through presenter Eric Belfanti of Susquehanna University. 

"It is always sad to see another full season of Floating Classroom programs come to an end," said Middle Susquehanna Riverkeeper John Zaktansky. "This year, we had so many unique new programs and presenters and are excited about what will come in 2026. We'd love everyone's feedback as we map out the options and start connecting with potential presenters."