Riverkeeper's note: The following is the introductory column by Riverkeeper John Zaktansky from the new e-magazine shared above or at this link. We also share below that the main stories from the same publication, interviews with Peter Petokas, Matt Kaunert and Mizuki Takahashi in blog form. We have included audio players for podcast conversations with Petokas and Kaunert. You can check out the new online petition to help push for protections for hellbenders by clicking here.

There is a huge amount of therapy for me, at least, on super stressful days – when it feels like the whole world is falling apart and the sky is falling with work projects and other major situations – to lay down in bed at night and zero in my thoughts and prayers of thankfulness on a smaller scope of what is going right at home.

That even when all else is spiraling out of control, at least my immediate family and things within my two-acre corner of the world are OK, safe and secure. 

I had that feeling, briefly, for the Eastern hellbender as I helped Dr. Peter Petokas this past July. 

A citizen report of potential pollution in a small Union County tributary of Penns Creek the night after a heavy rainstorm in late May led to an investigation and ongoing corrective action by a nearby business.

The morning of May 23, 2024, an individual reached out to Middle Susquehanna Riverkeeper John Zaktansky the night after a big storm sharing pictures and video of a very dark, nearly black water flowing down a small waterway and through a culvert under County Line Road not too far from the intersection with Route 304. 

"I looked at that little run and it was totally black and it smelled like major sewer," the person relayed. "I can tell you one thing, it is all headed to the Penns Creek."

Despite being rescheduled due to ​high waters related to Tropical Storm Debby, the bees and invasive plant Floating Classroom hosted by the Middle Susquehanna Riverkeeper Association aboard the Hiawatha Paddleboat in Williamsport drew a wide variety of families for hands-on instruction on Monday, Aug. 19, 2024.

On the upper level, association Northern Tier Regional Director Emily Shosh shared an overview on invasive plants found throughout the region, the issues they cause and what can be done about them. The presentation included an activity that illustrated how invasive plants can deplete resources in an environment and cut off native species. 

The following column was written by Middle Susquehanna Riverkeeper Association summer intern Theadora Duane. You can contact her directly via email by clicking here. 

​We’ve heard it all before. One domino can cause the rest to topple. One beat of a butterfly’s wings can alter life as we know it. One drop of water causes wide ripples. One move can change everything.

While these cliches are a bit dramatic, they do hold some truth.

Taken literally, the ripples caused by a drop of water are simply a result of energy transfer and surface tension. Depending on what’s in those drops, though, the impacts exceed that which we can directly see.

Update (Aug. 15, 2024): Due to continued high water levels from last weekend's tropical storm, the Middle Susquehanna Riverkeeper Association will not be able to offer its Riverwalk programs as planned at the Sunbury Riverfest on Aug. 17. River levels are too high to safely get to the islands where much of the programming was planned. 

The Middle Susquehanna Riverkeeper Association will be offering several guided Riverwalks on Saturday, Aug. 17, 2024, during the annual Sunbury RiverFest event, depending on the weather and water levels. 

The Riverwalks will be offered from the Sunbury Boat Launch located on the south end of town near the Southside Bait Shop. They will include walking across a part of the river to an island and exploring the aquatic ecology, from shoreline through a trail across the center of the island to see various stages of the ecosystem. 

These programs will be capped at 10 people per group and will only be for those 10 years old and older. Children under 18 should be accompanied by an adult. Participants should wear clothing they can get wet and muddy in with proper footwear (water shoes with hard soles), sunscreen and bug spray. 

Videographer Michael Kinney will be sharing a special presentation of footage from his 24-day, 228-mile paddle across the West Branch of the Susquehanna River in May of 2024 at an event scheduled for 1 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024, at the Campus Theatre in Lewisburg.

Kinney left the town of Cherry Tree on May 1 in a kayak with his girlfriend, Missy, providing support and supplies from the road until he paddled to Curwensville, where he switched to a canoe and she joined him on the water. They chronicled the entire trip via video and photos and have developed a special film to recap the adventure and what was learned along the way.

The Middle Susquehanna Riverkeeper Association hosted its fourth public Floating Classroom of the 2024 summer season on Tuesday, Aug. 6, with a hellbender theme aboard the Hiawatha Paddleboat in Williamsport

More than 50 people participated in the program which included a lower-level presentation by Matt Kaunert, of Lycoming College's Clean Water Institute, and two of his students, on their current hellbender research and nest box efforts. 

On the upper level, Middle Susquehanna Riverkeeper John Zaktansky and association Board President Michael Kinney talked about various efforts to bring awareness to the species, including videos, songs, art projects, legal cases and where things stand with potential protections for a species that has seen a massive reduction in habitat across the greater watershed.