The public is invited to vote online for the 2015 Pennsylvania River of the Year, choosing from among five waterways nominated across the state. The public can vote for their favorite state waterway through 5 p.m. December 15.
Nominated are: Conewango Creek, Lackawanna River, Loyalhanna Creek, Neshaminy Creek and the Ohio River. Click Here for background on each nominee.
“These nominated waterways showcase so many unique natural resources and recreational opportunities,” said Department of Conservation and Natural Resources Secretary Ellen Ferretti. “They demonstrate just how blessed Pennsylvanians are with this wealth of major rivers and streams and how so many are willing to support them.
“Entering its fifth year, the online public selection process has become increasingly popular,” Ferretti said. “We know this spirit of good-natured competition rallies community support around our deserving waterways and puts them in the limelight.”
Nominations were based on each waterway’s conservation needs and successes, as well as celebration plans should the nominee be voted 2015 River of the Year.
In cooperation with DCNR, selection of public voting choices was overseen by the PA Organization for Watersheds and Rivers (POWR), an affiliate of the Pennsylvania Environmental Council. Voting will be managed through Woobox, an online contest application that restricts voting to one vote per email address.
POWR, an affiliate of the Pennsylvania Environmental Council, administers the River of the Year program with funding from DCNR. Presented annually since 1983, this year’s 2014 designation was awarded to the Schuylkill River in southeast Pennsylvania.
“It’s really great to see how engaged people are in campaigning for their local rivers,” said PEC President and CEO Davitt Woodwell.
The Schuylkill River Greenway Association served as the lead organization in presenting the Schuylkill River.
“Having the Schuylkill named River of the Year gave the SRGA the opportunity to reconnect the public with the river,” said SRGA Executive Director Kurt Zwikl. “The honor highlighted the value the Schuylkill has to the region historically, recreationally, and as a beautiful and vital natural resource.”
After a waterway is chosen for the annual honor, local groups implement a year-round slate of activities and events to celebrate the river, including a paddling trip, or sojourn. The organization nominating the winning river will receive a $10,000 leadership grant to help fund their River of the Year activities.
POWR and DCNR also work with local organizations to create a free, commemorative poster celebrating the River of the Year.
The River of the Year sojourn is just one of many paddling trips supported by DCNR and POWR each year. An independent program, the Pennsylvania Sojourn Program, is a unique series of a dozen such trips on the state’s rivers.
These water-based journeys for canoeists, kayakers and others raise awareness of the environmental, recreational, tourism and heritage values of rivers.
Click Here to vote for the 2015 Pennsylvania River of the Year. Visit DCNR’s Rivers webpage for more information on rivers programs.