National Heritage Area Update

In June 2017, U.S. Representative Lloyd Smucker, with U.S. Representative Scott Perry and U.S. Representative Pat Meehan introduced H.R. 2991 in the U.S. House of Representatives to establish the Susquehanna National Heritage Area. On June 5th, 2018 the U.S. House of Representatives approved Congressman Lloyd Smucker’s bill to designate Lancaster and York Counties as the Susquehanna National Heritage Area. You can read about it and watch video of House proceedings on the bill here. This is a key milestone on the way to bringing this national honor to our region. Thank you Congressman Smucker and the U.S. House of Representatives for recognizing the national significance of our area and passing this legislation.

Help support our efforts to become a National Heritage Area by expressing your support and asking U.S. Senator Bob Casey & U.S. Senator Pat Toomey to support congressional designation of the Susquehanna National Heritage Area!

Contact U.S. Senator Bob Casey

Contact U.S. Senator Pat Toomey

Learn more here about our National Heritage Area Initiative.

National Heritage Area Bill Advances

On April 11th, 2018 Susquehanna Heritage President Mark Platts joined Congressman Lloyd Smucker and Columbia Mayor Leo Lutz at the U.S. House Federal Lands Subcommittee hearing on H.R. 2991, the Susquehanna National Heritage Act. This bill sponsored by Rep. Smucker will designate all of Lancaster and York Counties as America’s 50th National Heritage Area with Susquehanna Heritage as the Local Coordinating Entity. Congressman Smucker and Mayor Lutz testified in support of the bill. Read the Mayor’s testimony here and watch the hearing here (H.R. 2991 runs from 1:01:03 to 1:21:28.)   We very much appreciate Congressman Smucker’s leadership with this effort, along with the great support we’ve received from so many community groups and elected officials like Mayor Lutz. HR 2991 was recently marked up and reported out of the House Natural Resources Committee and now awaits a vote by the full U.S. House of Representatives. Learn more about our National Heritage Area initiative here.

Community Yoga Every Sunday in April

Stars Over The Susquehanna

April 20, 2018

 7:30 PM – 9:30 PM

Celebrating 125 years of Doc Hinkle’s Egg Dye

Rain Garden Clean-up & Planting

Spring is a time for dusting off and cleaning up. Well, our riverfront rain garden could certainly use some TLC after the long winter. Drop by the Zimmerman Center for Heritage on Sunday, March 25th, enjoy the spring air and exercise your green thumb at our rain garden clean-up and planting. Grab a hot dog from the grill and burn off the calories while getting to know native rain garden plants first-hand. Then return this Summer to enjoy the results of your efforts! Bring your boots, gloves, and clippers; extra gloves and clippers will be available. All ages are welcome from 12 PM to 3 PM.

Donor Spotlight – Ann B. Barshinger

 
Ann B. Barshinger, a generous philanthropist in both Lancaster and York Counties, has shared her love for the river. Her recent donation to Susquehanna Heritage will support river history, art, and nature programs for youth and families at the Zimmerman Center for Heritage, Columbia Crossing, and associated heritage and outdoor sites. These programs include our annual Every Kid in a Park and Canoemobile field trips for local school groups. 

We thank you, Ann!

Land & Water Shuttle Study Request For Proposal

Susquehanna Heritage seeks a consultant team to conduct a feasibility study for land and water shuttle services in the River Towns and Lake Clarke areas of the Susquehanna River corridor through Lancaster and York Counties in Pennsylvania. The primary purpose of the study is to assess the financial and operational feasibility of transporting visitors between the Zimmerman Center and Columbia Crossing through a seasonal land and water shuttle service with on-board interpretive programs. This new service is intended to improve visitor readiness, expand visitor programs, and build visitation from outside the region.

The Land & Water Shuttle Study will complement an Interpretive Master Plan for the Zimmerman Center, Columbia Crossing, and Native Lands County Park, which is currently underway. The consultant team selected for the Land and Water Shuttle Study is expected to coordinate with the Interpretive Master Plan consultant to ensure that proposed interpretive programs are compatible with and can be offered aboard the proposed shuttle services.

Land & Water Shuttle Study RFP

CAJO Land-Water Shuttle Study RFP – Rev. 1-18

As we start the New Year, arctic cold has transformed the Susquehanna outside our Zimmerman Center for Heritage into an icy winter wonderland. We are thankful to be inside looking out, warm with the layers of history that inhabit this 18th century stone sentinel of a building on what was once America’s frontier. It’s a great time to reflect on another successful year advancing our vision for the river as a national destination for outdoor fun and cultural discovery.

In 2017 we launched year-round weekend hours and programs at the Zimmerman Center, doubled annual visitors to almost 5,000, and welcomed over 400 local school children to learn about history, nature, and art through the Captain John Smith Chesapeake National Historic Trail. At Columbia Crossing River Trails Center we launched new exhibits and programs, hosted the Canoemobile event for hundreds of 5th graders, and helped 23,000 visitors find their place on the river. We saw our National Heritage Area bill introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives and celebrated with many generous friends of the river at our Annual River Experience event in Wrightsville and our first-ever Extraordinary River Party in Columbia.

More is on the way for 2018. With the National Park Service and other partners, we’ll complete important planning efforts for the John Smith Chesapeake Trail, design accessibility improvements at the Zimmerman Center, and prepare for new land and water shuttle service linking both sides of the river. We’ll continue to lead tourism development for the Susquehanna Riverlands, publish maps, websites, and social media, and improve visitor readiness. All of these efforts will enhance quality of life for residents and bring economic vitality to our communities through tourism.

This is all possible through strong, sustaining funding partnerships with the PA Department of Conservation & Natural Resources, National Park Service, Lancaster and York Counties, Lancaster County Solid Waste Management Authority, York County Convention & Visitors Bureau, Columbia Borough, the Ralph H. Goodno Riverlands Fund managed by Lancaster County Conservancy, and our many generous individual and corporate donors. Thank you all so much. We’ll see you along the river – whatever the season!

Mark Platts, President

We need your support to win 2018 River of the Year!

Vote for Lower Susquehanna/Susquehanna Riverlands for River of the Year!

Susquehanna Heritage & Lancaster County Conservancy recently worked to complete an application for River of the Year. Our organizations work together on the Susquehanna Riverlands Conservation Landscape Initiative, a project funded and created by PA Department of Conservation & Natural Resources.

The Susquehanna Riverlands has grown in the last ten years,  preserving hundreds of acres; expanding river access; developing parks and trails; and supporting the local economy through tourism. The Susquehanna Riverlands features three major lakes created by hydroelectric dams, three nationally recognized recreation trails (Susquehanna River Trail, Kelly’s Run Pinnacle Trail, and the Mason-Dixon Trail), as well as the 14 mile Northwest River Trail, and the Turkey Hill section of the 29 mile Enola Low Grade Rail Trail.  It provides opportunities to explore the rich historical and cultural history of the Lower Susquehanna Region including significant American Indian cultural landscapes, ecologically sensitive bird habitat such as the Conejohela flats and more than 2,000 acres of protected publicly accessible land, in 29 municipalities in Lancaster and York Counties.

Our organizations recognize that the River of the Year award would push forward the Susquehanna Riverlands brand. Plus the award includes funding to create and improve special events in the Susquehanna Riverlands. Events that you can be a part of! So help us to create some amazing river adventures by voting for Lower Susquehanna/Susquehanna Riverlands! We’re up against some tough competition so encourage your family and friends to vote too!

VOTE NOW

The Pennsylvania Organization for Watersheds and Rivers, or POWR, administers the River of the Year program for PA DCNR. This recognition is done to raise awareness of the important recreational, ecological, and historical resources associated with the state’s rivers and streams. Local organizations like ours submit nominations.

Susquehanna Heritage takes part in Chesapeake Bay Commission flyover of the Lower Susquehanna River

Susquehanna Heritage President Mark Platts joined leaders of the Chesapeake Bay Commission yesterday as the guide for a flyover of the Susquehanna River from Harrisburg to the Chesapeake Bay and back. Commission members were particularly interested in the numerous power generation facilities in this 60 mile stretch of the river, the many parks and preserves that help protect the Susquehanna watershed, and the evolving network of river heritage and recreation attractions we’ve helped develop with local, state, and national partners.

The Chesapeake Bay Commission sponsored the trip as part of its quarterly meeting in Harrisburg. Participants taking part in the flyover included: Ann Swanson, Executive Director of the Chesapeake Bay Commission; PA Representative Garth Everett, Chair of the Commission; MD Delegate Tawanna Gaines, Commission Member; MD Delegate Barbara Frush, Commission Member; and Shannon Lyons, SouthWings Chesapeake Program Director.

SouthWings coordinated this trip with volunteer pilots and plane.

Aerial view south from Conowingo Dam to the mouth of the Susquehanna River at the Chesapeake Bay.

Aerial view south from Holtwood over Conowingo Pond.

Participants prepare to board with the Southwings volunteer flight team at Harrisburg International Airport (MDT).

Participants taking part in the flyover included (left to right): PA Representative Garth Everett, Chair of the Commission; MD Delegate Barbara Frush, Commission Member; Shannon Lyons, SouthWings Chesapeake Program Director; Ann Swanson, Executive Director of the Chesapeake Bay Commission; and MD Delegate Tawanna Gaines, Commission Member.

We had a great time hosting Canoemobile at Columbia Crossing and River Park on October 16th and 17th. Fifth graders from Columbia School District, Eastern York, and home school groups participated in this day of adventure and learning on land and water. So inspiring to see so many kids discover the Susquehanna up close on a beautiful fall day – for many their first time in a canoe or on the river!

Our mission is to connect people to the river and its history and there’s no better way than getting on the water. Susquehanna Heritage worked with Wilderness Inquiry, National Parks Conservation Association and National Park Service Chesapeake Bay to coordinate and create an amazing experience for students. Thank you especially to National Parks Conservation Association for funding the bussing and programming. The partners plus Pennsylvania State Parks‘ Educator Curtis Sherwood also joined the Susquehanna Heritage team to offer land stations that directly tied the on-water experience with our local history, environment, and watershed.

Explore the images and videos below to see how this great program impacted students.