Photographer prepares to raise awareness, collect data along West Branch of Susquehanna on sojourn

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.”

The underwater videography introduced a whole new world of creatures to Kinney that sparked his curiosity: minnows, quillbacks and hellbenders.

“My photography hobby took over my fishing hobby. A couple of times, I’d forget my fishing pole. It became easier to focus on the photography,” he said. “Today, I go fishing maybe once or twice, and do photography the other 300 days a year.” 

His photography, fishing and paddling skills will all be on full display starting May 1 as starts a 228-mile journey along the West Branch of the Susquehanna River. 


“Gaining a deep appreciation of the river is one of the most important things anyone can learn,” he said. “We all have different ways to connect with the river and to share our river stories with others. My best way to do that is with my photography.”

Follow Michael's journey

Check out an interview with Michael Kinney in our most recent episode of the Middle Susquehanna Riverkeeper Podcast:

​Kinney has one bag devoted to camera supplies, at least four to five cameras, each with four to five batteries and two memory cards to be updated regularly. Beyond the wildlife and scenery of the interconnected aquatic ecosystem he captures both above and below the water, he plans to mindfully gather images and data at every tributary along the way.

“My initial list had 143 named tributaries, but the last I looked I was up to 160 and there are more to go,” he said. “I plan to get footage of every tributary, both above and below water, where it dumps into the West Branch. Being able to compare some of the known impaired creeks, like the Red Moshannon, to some of the really high quality waters will be really helpful.”

Kinney will also be gathering water quality data, such as temperature, pH and turbidity, as he goes. 

“He will also have one of our newer BirdNet units with him – one that is designed to be mobile that will be collecting, IDing and uploading bird calls during his journey as a way to test it and to hopefully give us a whole new set of data to check out,” said Riverkeeper John Zaktansky. “It will be interesting to see what we learn.”

He will also be observing and gathering thoughts from each day’s experiences – the West Branch offers a wide variety of sights and opportunities, according to David Decoteau, owner of Riverside Adventure Company, who has paddled the full stretch and started a series of blog posts about it.

“There are so many beautiful sections of river – so many crystal clear areas of water.  It is hard to really recommend one over another, but as a body of work, it is really nice,” he said. “That being said, there are also parts that are dirty and industrial and neglected. It’s good to see it all, and really experience it all and give it a good reflection as you do.”

Paddling plans
Kinney will start his journey in the town of Cherry Tree on May 1 with plans to wrap up by the end of the month in Northumberland.

“Cherry Tree to Northumberland is considered the paddleable section of the West Branch. My goal was to put into the water, get a couple of supply drops and camp the whole river, but the more I looked the Clearfield area, anyway, there were not a lot of campsite opportunities,” Kinney said. “So my plan is to set up a base camp in Curwensville and paddle stretches and have my girlfriend take me back and forth at the end of each day until I get past Clearfield and into a state forest area that stretches up to Renovo.”

The limited campsite situation is an issue Decoteau noticed when he tackled the West Branch, too.

“Campgrounds along the West Branch seem to be mostly privately held and open very late which is unfortunate because I recommend running the upper sections early,” he said. “Most folks I talked to had June opening dates. That being said, sometimes you can sweet talk your way into setting up a tent there for a small donation or something similar.”

He recommends running the upper sections (Cherry Tree to Mahaffey) early because they are “really only doable in any predictable way in early spring. You can do it other times, but you are really playing with water levels and hoping.”

Which makes it difficult, from a planning standpoint not too much further downriver, Kinney found out, when factoring in the dynamics of Curwensville Lake, the dam, spillway and spring rain levels.

“The river through Clearfield is much different than what I am used to in the Williamsport and Sunbury areas. Last month with all the rain, the Curwensville Lake filled up to historic levels. The spillway was closed off to allow Clearfield to deal with high water from the tributaries and then opened later which kept the river levels higher longer,” he said. “It is interesting because a few days of rain in that area can lead to a few weeks of higher river levels.”

Kinney will be camping along the river where he can, staying in a few AirBNBs provided by sponsors in the Renovo area and some campsites in the Williamsport to Northumberland area in the final stretch.

“I have appreciated all the support from the moment I have announced my decision to go – my Facebook post about it has been one of my most popular in quite some time and people have been offering help without me asking for it,” said Kinney. “John Klotz from Natural Waterscapes jumped up without hesitation as a sponsor to cover the cost of a new canoe and registration, which was nice. Recently, I have had some other sponsors, such as Bobby McGuire and and outfitter named Linda McCracken who has been super helpful with pointers and concerns she has shared on river levels and gear advice.”

Among Decoteau’s main nuggets of advice for longer trips such as this: “Mere mortals should not plan to cover any more than 25 miles of river per day,” he said. “You can do more, but it’s pushing it, and if you do that for more than a few days in a row…you usually pay when the weak link gives way.”

Kinney plans to take his time. Others he has talked to who did the stretch were able to navigate it in 15 days – he has blocked off 28.

“I am doing this to raise awareness, but this is also a vacation for me. I am doing this for fun, and because I am excited to get back to a point of exploring what is around the corner and sharing that with others,” he said. “Hopefully, along the way, I can help illuminate the importance and beauty of our waterway.”

People can follow Kinney’s progress throughout his journey, check out images and videos as he shares them, provide support, etc. at www.middlesusquehannariverkeeper.org/west-branch-adventure.html

Check out Decoteau's blog post about paddling the first stretch of the West Branch (Cherry Tree to Mahaffey) here.