Cyber Academy students learn about salamanders, macroinvertebrates on special Floating Classroom5/21/2024  The Commonwealth Cyber Academy held a special Floating Classroom aboard the Hiawatha Paddleboat near Williamsport on Tuesday, May 21, 2024, conducted by the Middle Susquehanna Riverkeeper Association.
The program acted as the kickoff for the group's summer Floating Classroom season, where people learn about river-related topics while cruising the West Branch of the Susquehanna River in the Hiawatha. Kathryn Allen led the lower-level presentation with an overview on salamanders, with a few live specimens on board. The upper-level session was led by Middle Susquehanna Riverkeeper John Zaktansky, who offered an overview on macroinvertebrates as clean water indicators with a hands-on macro exploration opportunity and bug coloring activity sheet.
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Montour Preserve adds live eels, 24/7 underwater livestream in new display through partnership5/21/2024  From left, Riverkeeper John Zaktansky, Vernal School Program Supervisor Marissa Crames, Riverkeeper summer intern Theadora Duane, Montour Area Recreation Commission (MARC) Director Bob Stoudt, Susquehanna River Basin Commission Communications Director Stacey Hanrahan and MARC Assistant Director Julian Brehm check show off the new Eels in the Classroom display at the Montour Preserve. The Montour Preserve, located in Montour County, is the newest addition to the Susquehanna River Basin Commission's (SRBC) Eels in the Classroom initiative thanks to a collaboration with the Montour Area Recreation Commission (MARC), Middle Susquehanna Riverkeeper Association (MSRKA) and Fessler IT Consulting all through the Vernal School Environmental Education Partnership.
“We’re thrilled to have the Vernal School partner with our Eels in the Classroom (EIC) program that has educated tens of thousands of students on the importance of the American Eel in our ecosystems” said SRBC Fisheries Biologist and EIC creator Aaron Henning. “The display at the preserve is an excellent way of spreading the word to both children and adults about the eel population restoration successes we are beginning to see throughout our basin.” The eels were delivered on Monday, May 20, and are in a 30-gallon tank in the hallway as you enter the educational center just outside the auditorium. The display includes three large educational panels that offer information about the historical and ecological impacts of the eel in our river basin and how the Eels in the Classroom program is helping to offer important awareness. Fossil program at Montour Preserve draws more than 100 people despite soggy weather conditions5/18/2024  On Saturday, May 18, 2024, Central PA Rock and Mineral Club President Andrew Rockhound and his wife, Cori Rockhound, offered an educational fossil program at the Montour Preserve to more than 100 people despite a steady rain most of the day leading up to the event.
It started at the educational center with an overview of the types of fossils that can be found at the Montour Preserve fossil pit and tips for finding them before everyone went to the fossil pit to hunt for fossils. Below are several dozen photos from the event. Videos and other content will be added as it becomes available. The program was offered under the Vernal School Environmental Education Partnership. Check out more program opportunities through the Vernal School here. Donations toward programs such as these and others can be made through this link.  These photos, provided by Tom Clark, show Bear Creek - a tributary of the West Branch of the Susquehanna River - both before and after treatment for Abandoned Mine Drainage (AMD) issues. Riverkeeper's note: The following post was written, and attached podcast recorded by Northern Tier Regional Director Emily Shosh. She can be contacted at [email protected].
Abandoned mine drainage (AMD) currently causes water pollution in 5,500 miles of Pennsylvania streams, according to the state's Department of Environmental Protection, and is the second highest cause of stream degradation in the state according to numerous reports, including this fact sheet from the Chesapeake Bay Foundation. The phenomenon occurs when old coal seams fill with water, washing over minerals and creating a chemical reaction that leads to various minerals and acids to wash into streams. The general outcome is an unlivable and acidic pH and a high level of dissolved and/or precipitated metals (mostly iron, aluminum and manganese) in the substrate and water. However, restoration efforts by professionals such as Tom Clark, Abandoned Mine Program Project Development Manager for Kleinfelder Engineering, have helped to return streams back into livable waterways for trout, macroinvertebrates and other aquatic life.  Event update: Due to circumstances beyond our control, the 2024 Adult Prom originally scheduled for Friday, June 14, will be postponed. A new date will be announced soon.
Building on the success of last year's Middle Susquehanna Riverkeeper Association's Roaring '20s Adult Prom aboard the Hiawatha Paddleboat near Williamsport, the program will return on Friday, June 14, for a "Sock Hop on the Susquehanna!" The program begins at 6 p.m. as a fundraiser for the Vernal School Environmental Education Partnership at the Montour Preserve. The initiative encompasses efforts to address deferred projects, enhance universal accessibility and offer educational programs at the 640-acre nature preserve in Montour County. Registration open for new West Branch kayaking, fishing HERYN program day for kids set for July 105/7/2024  The popularity of the Middle Susquehanna Riverkeeper Association's HERYN (Helping Engage our River's Youth with Nature) kayaking and fishing program days and recent development of a West Branch Regional Director position has led to a new West Branch HERYN program opportunity to be held July 10 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Bald Eagle State Park's Blanchard Lake near Howard.
The program will take place at Bald Eagle State Park’s Sayer Dam Beach at Pavilions 6 and 7. The registration for participants will be capped at 20 participants and participants will be split into 2 groups of 10. The program will contain three main program elements: Kayaking, fishing and pond ecology. Photographer prepares to raise awareness, collect data along West Branch of Susquehanna on sojourn4/30/2024  According to Middle Susquehanna Riverkeeper Association President Michael Kinney, everyone has talents they can use to promote the Susquehanna River.
His just happen to be found behind a camera. “I’ve been an outdoorsman most of my life, fishing and boating with my grandfather and father, and in 2007 I got into rafting and going to more remote areas. I’d take some pictures of the fish we’d catch to show the family when we’d get home, and then I’d start to take photos of the scenery around us, too, and it just kind of took off from there,” he said. “Then GoPro cameras came along and we played around with doing videos under water of releasing the trout and bass we caught, which looks really cool because you aren’t used to that perspective.” Williamsport fish ladder not working due to broken gate blocking flow according to DCNR official4/30/2024  The Williamsport fish ladder is currently not operational, according to Luke Ulsamer, Forest Assistant Manager with the DCNR Tiadaghton Forest District, due to a broken gate blocking flow through the structure.
"While operating the gate to the fish ladder during routine maintenance, something broke in the gate. It is resting on the bottom of the structure effectively cutting off all water to the fish ladder system," he said. "So (there is) no fish passage until we get this fixed." Ulsamer is unsure how long that process will take. "(We are) trying to get a diver in there to inspect it and see what may need repaired," he said.  "Mending the Line" director Joshua Caldwell, left, chats with actors Sinqua Walls and Brian Cox during filming in Montana. Photo provided by Caldwell. “I don’t know why it is that some of my best days on the river have begun with waking alone in the darkness, truly alone, with that deep empty feeling – that hollow aloneness that you cannot shake free of. It had been some time since my service in the Marines, but years later, the ghosts came to call, and I found myself afraid to sleep, knowing they would come back. A doctor helped me to chase away the ghosts, but the feeling of emptiness remained. I guess sometimes surviving is your punishment. So, you stand in the river, facing upstream with the water rushing down upon you as if it could somehow fill the hollow emptiness – and somehow, it always does. So, it was one morning. I stood there, without even casting and with no trout rising, and as the water rushed past me, I knew it was washing my burdens behind me, swirling them downstream like autumn leaves.” – excerpt from "Casting Forward: Fishing Tales from the Texas Hill Country" by Steve Ramirez At its core, fly fishing requires you to be completely present, which is why movie director Joshua Caldwell – the creative force behind trending Netflix film “Mending the Line” – works so well to interrupt the trauma loop for those returning from the military, first responders and others who are struggling with anxiety, depression and other mental health issues.
“People can get a benefit out of spin-fishing, but with that, you can sit on the bank of a river in a chair, throw that spoon out there, reel it in and repeat almost on auto pilot,” he said. “The difference-maker in fly fishing for a lot of people is that you have to go to the trout. You have to step into the water. You have to feel that water pushing against your legs. Your stabilizers are firing on all cylinders to keep you upright. “You’re trying to focus on the cast because you have to get the cast right – you can’t just throw it out there because it is never going to work. And once you finally get the cast out there, your drift might only be six inches, so you have to watch that like a hawk. Then you have to pick that up and throw it again. So every step of the way, you have to be present.” Which makes it basically impossible to think about anything else. Headwater Hero: Bob Webber was 'ambassador' for natural resources, trail steward and storyteller4/22/2024  Over the years, Bob Webber led group hikes, always open to sharing the forest with others. Photo courtesy of Curt Weinhold. The following column, the second in the Headwater Heroes series, was written by Northern Tier Regional Director Emily Shosh. She can be contacted directly at [email protected]. The first installment, on Dr. Pete Ryan, can be read here.
Sunday, April 21, marked the 9th anniversary of the loss of a headwater region local legend. Hailing originally from Shafferstown, PA, Robert “Bob” Webber found “home on the ridge” nestled on a ridgetop near Slate Run where he lived with his wife Dorothy (“Dotty”) for 54 years. They lived in a primitive cabin, no less - surviving on the basics and finding happiness in the most beautiful, simple joys of life. They also sought to share their homestead and forest with others. They maintained over 50 miles of trail in the state forests near their home including the famously rugged Black Forest Trail, which Bob blazed alongside fellow forester John Eastlake. |
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
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