“Every time I take a class on this trip, one person falls in the river.” That was the line our Environmental Advocacy Writing professor, Dr. Justin Mando, said before our class went on the annual kayaking trip. As we drove to Shanks Mare Outfitters… As we picked our kayak partner… As I put my backpack […]
What is One Water? The One Water concept was developed by the Water Research Foundation – a nonprofit, educational organization that funds, manages, and publishes research on the technology, operation, and management of drinking water, wastewater, reuse, and stormwater systems – to “manage water resources holistically and sustainably. One Water is an integrated planning and […]
This article is part 4 of a 4-part series on the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission’s current and most recently retired Executive Directors: Tim Schaeffer and John Arway, respectively. RiverStewards is a proud supporter and partner of the Commission and all the great work that it does to protect and enhance Pennsylvania’s waterways, aquatic habitat, […]
This article is part 3 of a 4-part series on the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission’s current and most recently retired Executive Directors: Tim Schaeffer and John Arway, respectively. RiverStewards is a proud supporter and partner of the Commission and all the great work that it does to protect and enhance Pennsylvania’s waterways, aquatic habitat, […]
An Interview with John Arway (Part 2) Today, the biggest threat is no longer the simpler point source discharges, but the subtler yet abundant non-point sources, according to John Arway, former executive director of the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission. Non-Point Sources Are a Greater Challenge “For large watersheds like the Susquehanna, we’re dealing with […]
An Interview with John Arway (Part 1) “I often say there are only two seasons in Pennsylvania: hunting season and fishing season,” John Arway says with a laugh. “That keeps me occupied almost all year round.” Arway, who retired in November 2018, spent 38 years with the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission, the last 10 […]
Photo above: Dr.Justin Mando instills his passion for the outdoors into his Environmental Advocacy Writing class at Millersville University – part of RiverStewards’ “Susquehanna Storytelling” initiative. While environmental issues – whether they are as regional as the health and stability of local waterways or as large as the global climate – affect all life, their […]
Photo above: John Quigley, Director of Harrisburg University’s Center for Environment, Energy and Economy discusses what a shared database might look like. Government agencies, nonprofits, academics and others use data in their day-to-day work. Whether analyzing the levels of nitrate and phosphorus in a water sample, tracking sediment loads over time, or gauging the economic […]
In the past, someone with leftover medications had few choices for disposal. Flush it and harm water quality? Throw it in the trash and affect the environment that way? Wait a year until someone has a drug take-back program? There has to be a better way! That’s what the Susquehanna Heartland Coalition and Geisinger Health […]
“The Treasure of the Susquehanna” was developed by Millersville University student Gabrielle Redcay, with guidance from her professor Justin Mando, as part of the RiverStewards initiatives, Susquehanna Stories. The film discusses the importance of the river and what actions citizens can take to help protect it. Featured in the film are Josh Hill of Shenk’s […]
If someone were to ask you, “What is Environmental Advocacy?” would you be able to provide an answer for them? The students of Millersville University’s first environmental advocacy class, led by Dr. Justin Mando, spent a semester trying to pick apart the meaning of that question together. Their investigation began with a trip down the […]
For the fourth time in six years, the state is attempting to adopt a new plan for governing the discharge of polluting industrial wastewater at the Brunner Island power plant, as well as cooling water that has been blamed for fish kills. The York County power plant’s discharge permit expired in 2011 and the plant has been […]
Certainly we should all be worried about the root causes of disease and intersex problems that have beset the Susquehanna River’s most revered game fish, the smallmouth bass. But don’t be such a worrywart that you don’t go fishing and miss what has suddenly become the river’s best bronzeback fishing on record. At least in […]
Swayed by the concerns of many Pennsylvania anglers, the state’s fishery managers decided Tuesday not to lift a springtime ban on smallmouth bass fishing in the middle and lower Susquehanna and lower Juniata rivers. The eight-member Fish & Boat Commission voted unanimously to extend the spawning season catch ban for at least another year, requesting more evidence […]
There’s something about water that draws people to it. Whether the benefits are emotional or economical, there’s no denying the appeal of rivers, lakes and streams — three features that make Central Pennsylvania an attractive place to live, work or visit. The Susquehanna River is the most prominent water feature in the region. At 444 […]
At Millersville University’s new faculty orientation, I mentioned to an older gentleman who served as our tour guide that I had been fishing the Susquehanna almost daily since moving to Lancaster County from Pittsburgh. The man assumed I meant from a boat, but when I told him I’d been wading the river he replied with […]
My River Story Growing up fishing the tributaries to the Susquehanna River helped me to weave a connective thread with water, the surrounding environment, and the interactions and influences of humans on these seemingly separate ecosystems. However, the circuitous route to get to this point in my understanding of this complex relationship has been as […]
I have spent three decades contemplating place and how people and communities fit into the larger landscape. For a decade I worked on the Susquehanna Greenway, helping to craft the vision and organizational framework to encourage local communities to reconnect with the river while empowering them to plan and build their part of the evolving greenway […]
When I moved to Harrisburg back in 2004, the first thing I noticed was the river. It was so wide; it dominated the landscape. From that first glance, I wanted to know more about it. But not by reading books or internet articles, I wanted to experience it firsthand. A kayak would become the vessel […]