For the past 40 years, rivers and their tributaries in Pennsylvania have competed for the prestigious honor of being River of the Year.
This year the Lackawaxen River in the Poconos is one of three rivers in the running.
"When you get momentum about protecting something and beautifying something and providing public access, it's more important than ever," said Grant Genzlinger, a member of the Lackawaxen River Trails project.
The Lackawaxen is up against two Western Pa. rivers: the Allegheny, a 325-mile river that ends in Pittsburgh; and Youghiogheny, a 134-mile waterway. The River of the Year award is a collaboration between Pennsylvania's Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) and the Pennsylvania Organization for Watersheds and Rivers (POWR). It began in 1983, before DCNR was created. Community members and river enthusiasts cast votes online to pick the winner.
The Lackawaxen River is 31-miles long. Its headwaters are west of Honesdale in Wayne County and it eventually dumps into the Delaware River in Lackawaxen Twp. in Pike County.
The Lackawaxen River Trails project nominated the waterway for the honor. They’re working to create a multi-purpose trail on and along the river connecting Honesdale and Hawley. The group has already received state funding to create river access points, the first step in the project.
“We're going to see some amazing transformations along the river and some great accesses as well," said James Hamill, a Honesdale councilman and member of the river trails group. "Why not put our names in the hat for that running."
The Lackawaxen is a navigable river, but until recently, there hasn’t been any public access, said Genzlinger.
"The work that is being done now ... is refocusing the communities along the river to the river, which they kind of historically have turned their back on," he said.
The Lackawaxen was River of the Year in 2010. This time around is different. Hamill said the award will help with future trail development.
"River of the Year would provide just a little bit more of a propelling in that momentum that we expect to have, which are including more groups and more recreation enthusiasts to meet the river for the first time or to reconnect with the river again," he said.
Wesley Robinson is press secretary for DCNR.
"The River of the Year program is a great way to promote different bodies of water and get people thinking about where they can go, recreate and learn about new parts of the state," he said.
Nominations are based on each waterway’s conservation needs, successes and programming plans, according to the state.
After the winner is announced, local groups plan activities and events throughout the year to celebrate the river. That typically includes a paddling trip or sojourn with experts on the waterway, its history and its surroundings. They also receive a $10,000 grant to help with those events.
Hamill said while they hope to win, being in the running still brings awareness to the natural resource.
“But if we do help, I think, put in people's minds the value of this river and this corridor and this grassroots effort behind it, I think that's still winning," he said.
The contest ends on Jan. 19. To cast a vote, visit lackawaxenrivertrails.org or pawatersheds.org.
A BRIEF HISTORY OF RIVER OF THE YEAR
Rivers and tributaries in Northeastern and Central Pennsylvania are often either up for, or are winners of, the state’s River of the Year award.
The North Branch of the Susquehanna is the reigning champion of River of the Year. As the 2023 River of the Year, it’s the most recent waterway to win the honor. The North Branch also won in 2016, 2004, 1991, 1986, 1984 and 1983. The Susquehanna in its entirety won in 1994. Many of the river’s tributaries have also won the honor.
Other River of the Year winners in Northeastern and Central PA include:
2020: Lackawanna River
2018: Loyalsock Creek (Sullivan and Lycoming Counties)
2011: Delaware River
2009: Lower and Middle Susquehanna River
2007: Lehigh River
2005: West Branch Susquehanna River
2002: Delaware River
1997: Lehigh River
1995: Upper Delaware River
1993: Meshoppen Creek (Susquehanna and Wyoming Counties)
1992: West Branch Susquehanna
1991: Pine Creek (Potter, Tioga, Lycoming and Clinton counties)
1990: Catawissa Creek (Luzerne, Schuylkill and Columbia counties)
