Susquehanna River Initiative

The Susquehanna River Initiative (SRI) is the primary focus of the Watershed Sciences and Engineering (WSE) program at the Bucknell Center for Sustainability and the Environment. It focuses on connect faculty and students to the Susquehanna River by developing new watershed-based teaching, research, and outreach activities. Teaching examples include developing new interdisciplinary courses such as "Stream Restoration" or "Bucknell on the Susquehanna." Research examples include the longitudinal assessment of the Susquehanna River, with published work on macro invertebrate, geomorphology, flood impacts, and the natural history of the river. Outreach examples include the annual Susquehanna River Symposium and restoration of Miller Run, the stream that runs through Bucknell's campus.

The broader WSE program extends to other watersheds around the world. As its name implies, its interests lie primarily in the hydrologic, ecologic, and engineering sciences, but also involves work in the humanities and social sciences, especially related to historical changes in land use, cultures, and communities in the watershed. Sustainability, global connections, and long-term changes are important issues being addressed by the faculty and students involved in Initiative studies.

In addition to the river monitoring, aquatic community assessments, and habitat studies, the SRI maintains instrumented field stations at the Montandon wetlands and Roaring Creek forested watershed and leads educational paddling sojourns and natural history outings. Public outreach activities include stream and wetland restoration projects, teaching workshops, annual river symposia, and public seminars.

Environmental data and discoveries are shared with our collaborative research partners, including the Susquehanna River Heartland Coalition for Environmental Studies, U.S. Geological Survey, Chesapeake Bay Commission, Smithsonian Institution, Susquehanna River Basin Commission, Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and the Nature Conservancy.