The Susquehanna that Once Was

  

There are countless field journals written by the earliest explorers of the endless hills and valleys of the Susquehanna River’s watershed. Many can be found online, and I am fortunate to have amassed a hardcopy of most.

     

From John Smith in 1608 to Richard Smith in 1769, from Etienne Brule in 1615 to the officers and soldiers of Sullivan’s Campaign against the Iroquois in 1779, and from Conrad Weiser in the 1730’s to Judge William Cooper in the ~1780's...and of course Robert Louis Stevenson’s immortal words written in 1879:

    

"And when I had asked the name of a river from the brakesman, and heard that it was called the Susquehanna, the beauty of the name seemed to be part and parcel of the beauty of the land. As when Adam with divine fitness named the creatures, so this word Susquehanna was at once accepted by the fancy. That was the name, as no other could be, for that shining river and desirable valley."

   

…there is plenty of history available at the fingertips of those that want to learn.

    

For those who have already embraced and absorbed those erstwhile ethereal moments transcribed on paper, we know what once was, as well as what has been lost. If the entire existence of the Susquehanna River was reduced to a single 24 hour day…we did our damage between 11:59:59 P.M. and midnight. And that, my friends, is chronologically correct…and I’m erring on the young side of the Susquehanna’s estimated age @ 60 million years! Others estimate that this river flowed through some or all of its present course for almost 300 million years. Then again, since we now have a raging debate going on about the age of the Grand Canyon…who knows??

     

Even during the time of the Susquehannock, the Susquehanna was still a pristine-clean thriving ecosystem that was loaded with an incredibly diverse array of species from the Chesapeake Bay all the way up to its source @ Lake Otsego in Cooperstown. Eels? Check. Mussels? Check. Trout? Check. Salmon? Check. Shad? Double check.

          

The latter fish were so plentiful that the river was reported to bulge with shad & herring and numerous other species as they made their way upstream to spawn every spring. If only for a moment, I wish I could witness that glorious spectacle.

     

Fast forward to today, there is currently a move underway to get the Susquehanna classified as impaired…by the PFBC, no less. It’s being fought by, guess who….our friendly neighborhood Department of Environmental Protection led by Michael Krancer, Esq. Other than to say that Mr. Krancer is totally unqualified to make any judgment about the current status of the Susquehanna….I’ll stop my commentary there.

     

For now.
       

Using the references and links provided above, take time to read about the majestic river that once was. And if you do that, consider making time to join those of us that have been fighting to protect this river for decades.

     

Soon enough…you’ll have your chance.