2016 Susquehanna Biathlon
Saturday, June 25, 2016 – Race Start 10 a.m.
SIGN UP BEFORE Saturday, JUNE 5 and receive a free HIGH TECH WICKING T – SHIRT.
Clink on this link for information and to sign up today:
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/6th-annual-susquehanna-biathlon-tickets-21733646923
That’s right! The Susquehanna Biathlon is back better than ever for 2016 with the same unique run-paddle combination and beautiful course! No other event in Central PA combines two of our favorite hobbies – trail running and river paddling – for the best cause of all: supporting clean water. We hope you will run and paddle with us on June 25, 2016 and support Lower Susquehanna Riverkeeper Association’s work keeping our water fishable, swimmable, and drinkable!
What new for 2016? Our first MAYFLY FESTIVAL. 10 AM to 2 PM While the race is on and immediately after there is musical entertainment, food and watersports for kids & families in celebration of the Return of the Mayflies to the Lower Susquehanna. Fun youth paddling demonstrations will be held during the festival with cool prizes (This is a great way to get kids to be introduced to a safe paddling experience). After generations of polluted water, the work of the Lower Susquehanna RIVERKEEPER Association and others groups has started to make a positive measurable improvement. One of the results of this is the return of the Mayflies, which are harmless insects that are an important part of the food system for smallmouth bass and other river fish. They have a 48 hour lifespan. The Mayfly hatch can number in the billions and the recent proliferation of the hatch over the past 2 years means our river is on its way back to good health. Thank you for joining us in this fight for clean water.
THE COURSE:
Like previous years, the Biathlon is roughly a 5.2 km run from the lot adjacent the John Wright Restaurant in Wrightsville, to a paddling launch site just upriver from the Accomac Inn. The second leg is a paddle downriver with an exciting finish back at the start by the John Wright’s public boat launch.
The running course starts with a brief road section, followed by gravel and private road with a short rocky trail section. There are slight uphills and downhills, and of course the paddle always refreshes and stimulates starting with an easy flatwater paddle followed by an exciting class I whitewater finish!
We know some folks just want to support Lower Susquehanna Riverkeeper, so we’ve kept the race open for two hours to accommodate both those speedy racers and those who want to enjoy the race in a more leisurely fashion.
PRIZES:
Top Male, Female, and Team Finishers receive prizes!
RULES:
All participants need to provide their own equipment and transportation to the race’s start. After you check-in at the John Wright you can drive to the paddle start, two houses north of the Accomac Inn on River Road, to drop your watercraft at the launch site. Volunteers will watch your equipment until you come running in for the swap.
Commonly accepted rules of sportsmanship apply. Intentional damaging or interference with an opponent will result in disqualification. Local rescue squads and volunteers will provide assistance for maximum safety on both land and water.
SCHEDULE
Registration: 8:30 AM @ John Wright, field adjacent parking lot. All Participants MUST check-in prior to start!
Pre-Race Mtg: 9:45am @ John Wright
Biathlon Start: 10:00am with a 2 hour time limit
Awards Ceremony: 11:30 am @ John Wright
*FOR RENTAL EQUIPMENT CALL SHANK’S MARE (717) 252-1616 FOR GEAR RESERVATIONS!*
- Participants may drop off their paddling equipment starting at 8:30AM, June 25, 2016, to the launch site at 6292 River Dr (two riverfront lots upriver from the Accomac parking lot).
Please park at the Accomac’s North lot and walk your gear the 200′ feet to the launch area!
Live Music * Artisans and Crafters * Food * Kayaking & Canoeing * Family Fun * FREE
Jun 17
Comments on Proposed Chesapeake Bay LNG Export Facility
Letters & Petitions, Official Statements
by LowSusRiverkeeper
On June 16th, 2014 we submitted this technical comment letter detailing why the proposed Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) Export Facility in Lusby, MD cannot move forward because of significant flaws in its environmental review.
The comment letter was submitted to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), the federal agency with authority over proposals to export and import natural gas. As we’ve discussed in previous posts, FERC is the federal agency that is responsible for assessing the environmental impacts of LNG export proposals pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).
The proposal to export LNG from the Chesapeake Bay via the existing, Lusby MD import terminal is bad news for upstream watersheds and communities like the Susquehanna. This is because LNG export from the Chesapeake is specifically tied to development of shale gas reserves like the Marcellus and Utica, shale reserves which underlay much of the Susquehanna River Basin and Pennsylvania.
Development of these shale plays is and continues to occur via the use of hydraulic fracturing, an inherently polluting industrial practice that, in order to extract shale gas, disturbs wide swaths of intact forest, meadow, and farmland, disturbs headwater creeks and vital fisheries habitat, and threatens groundwater supplies with its deep-earth injections. Furthermore, its infrastructure – like new and expanded pipelines, compressor stations, and the like – is already converting valuable cropland and threatening public safety and well-being throughout the downstream Lower Susquehanna. For instance, the proposed, controversial Lancaster Co. natural gas pipelines are part and parcel of helping bring gas from upstream watersheds to the export facility in the Chesapeake.
These and other environmental impacts associated with shale gas development in the Susquehanna and Mid-Atlantic are what FERC’s environmental review should have considered. Unfortunately, FERC has turned a blind-eye to these types of impacts, and refused to consider them as it moves forward in trying to authorize LNG export from the Chesapeake Bay. In fact, FERC not only refused to consider impacts to upstream communities like the Susquehanna, it also refused to even perform a robust study, choosing to perform an abbreviated review – called and Environmental Assessment – instead of a thorough, probing review – called an Environmental Impact Statement.
Lower Susquehanna Riverkeeper will continue its strong, science-based advocacy to ensure decisionmakers rightfully consider the full-range of impacts that an LNG export facility in the Chesapeake will mean for upstream communities and watersheds like the Susquehanna.
Tags: chesapeake bay LNG export, comment letter, FERC, LNG export, pipelines Susquehanna, Susquehanna fracking