Families, friends and even teammates from one of the Little League World Series teams (Carribean) learned about wildlife scat and the important ecological role it plays both locally and abroad, what happens when there is too much poop in our ecosystem and enjoyed a hands-on activity on learning clues to identifying wildlife from the scat it leaves behind during the Aug. 19 Floating Classroom aboard the Hiawatha Paddleboat near Williamsport.

The program included an overview on the lower level inspired by the new youth educational book Scat: The Incredible Science of Wildlife Poop by Anita Sanchez. Led by Riverkeeper John Zaktansky, participants discussed differences in digestive systems, answering trivia about poop-related vocabulary and delved into some unique case studies on how animal poop has played key ecological roles.

This included the blue whale-krill-phytoplankton relationship where blue whale waste helps feed phytoplankton, how earthworms are used to revitalize fields that are lacking resources, fruit bats were used to reseed forests in southeast Mexico devastated by wildfires and other poop-related success stories. The group then looked at the issues caused by too much waste, nutrient overload and algae blooms and how that can negatively impact an ecosystem. 

As of Tuesday afternoon, Aug. 19, 2025, residue from an oil spill reported Sunday evening, Aug. 17, by two fishermen on the Susquehanna River's West Branch just below the Williamsport dam, was still visible along the river's edge and in various coves and eddies.

"While various groups responding to the situation have not declared any sort of public health concern, I think it is smart to avoid using the river from below the Williamsport dam to at least Greevy's Boat Launch, if not the town of Montgomery," said Middle Susquehanna Riverkeeper John Zaktansky. "With the lower water table, it is easy for pockets of this oily wastewater to pool up in eddies and not really flush downstream and we don't really know for sure what all was in the fluid that leaked from the Eureka facility. It is best to play it safe until more information is available."

According to a statement released by the regional Department of Environmental Protection, the agency responded to the spill Sunday, tracing it to its source of an aboveground storage tank at the Eureka Resources facility on Second Street near the Hepburn Street pumping station. The spill reached a storm drain that emptied into the pumping station that goes into the river.

The Middle Susquehanna Riverkeeper Association and Vernal School Environmental Education Partnership will be holding an Open House during the Sunbury River Festival on Friday, Aug. 15 (from 4-8 p.m.) and Saturday, Aug. 16 (10 a.m. to 8 p.m.) at its 112 Market Street, Sunbury, PA, office. 

The Open House will include a wide variety of hands-on opportunities, including an interactive beaver stream table display where kids/families can manipulate sediment and see how it impacts the flood plain similarly to how beavers can alter stream channels. 

Nearly 50 people learned about owls aboard the Hiawatha Paddleboat near Williamsport during the Aug. 5, 2025, Floating Classroom program hosted by the Middle Susquehanna Riverkeeper Association.

Middle Susquehanna Riverkeeper John Zaktansky led an overview presentation on owl species and general owl information on the lower level of the boat. Meanwhile, Colleen Zehr, representing Camp Susque, oversaw an owl pellet dissection activity and owl diet overview on the upper level.

Nearly 50 people joined the July 29, 2025, Floating Classroom aboard the Hiawatha Paddleboat near Williamsport along the West Branch of the Susquehanna River for an overview on duck species. 

Families and participants of all ages enjoyed a discussion about diving ducks on the upper level with longtime species advocate and professional leadership speaker Caz Russell while the lower-level program on dabbler duck ID and species characteristics was led by Middle Susquehanna Riverkeeper John Zaktansky.

The Middle Susquehanna Riverkeeper Association kicked off its popular annual summer and early fall Floating Classroom series aboard the Hiawatha Paddleboat near Williamsport with a July 8 program looking at water chemistry and aquatic health. 

More than three dozen people joined the kickoff cruise, which started with reviewing an actual fish kill case from several years ago and then diving into numerous ways to monitor water health and how to determine what could be causing negative impacts on various ecosystems.

"These programs are always so much fun because kids, parents, grandparents and others from the community all learn alongside each other about the river and the greater watershed," said Middle Susquehanna Riverkeeper John Zaktansky. "There is no better place to discover more about the Susquehanna than in a classroom surrounded by the river basin and the creatures that call it home." 

The Middle Susquehanna Riverkeeper Association is seeking feedback from trappers and other outdoor enthusiasts about muskrat numbers and trends about the species across the state of Pennsylvania via a new online survey.

"What we’ve seen is a decline in the muskrat since really the 1970s as far as we can tell," said Pennsylvania Game Commission biologist Tom Keller during an April 2024 Middle Susquehanna Riverkeeper Podcast interview about American marten reintroduction efforts. "If we look at some of our indices that we track species with, there’s been this steady decline from the 70s until now and it doesn’t seem to be letting up. To me that is very alarming."

The survey, built with assistance from intern Abbie Mack, is focused on those who trap muskrat and other species, as "individuals who spend lots of time studying the habits and trends of not only muskrats but also the habitat in which they live," said Middle Susquehanna Riverkeeper John Zaktansky. "Many trappers and hunters can be multi-generational learners who pass down information they've noticed and can hopefully shed additional light on what may be going on with the muskrat. If this species is declining when water quality is otherwise improving and other aquatic mammals such as the river otter are rebounding, then what are we all missing?"

As the second day of West Branch HERYN (Helping Engage our River's Youth with Nature) kayaking and fishing program days wrapped up on July 2, West Branch Regional Director Andrew Bechdel received an email from Susan Hart, of State College, whose son participated the day before.

​"Noah had a fantastic time at the HERYN program yesterday," she wrote. "He was raving about it! Thank you so much for offering this great opportunity for kids in our community."

The July 2 program day repeated the opportunities of July 1, with fishing and kayaking instruction and programs followed by a pond study experience, Enviroscape watershed model demonstration and more.

A group of 8-13 year-old participants from Centre, Clinton and surrounding counties converged on Tuesday, July 1, 2025, just outside of Howard, PA, for a day of fishing, kayaking and other activities designed to spark excitement for and a lifelong interest in our aquatic resources. 

West Branch HERYN (Helping Engage our River's Youth with Nature) including sessions on fishing and kayaking that allowed participants to learn fundamentals that intentionally led to more engaged competitions in the nearby lake. Safety and state regulations were included in each discussion.