The Susquehanna River Basin Commission this week presented the Commission’s fourth William W. Jeanes, Sr. Award for Environmental Excellence to Homer (Skip) W. Wieder, Jr. for his leadership and dedication to improving water quality and enhancing the quality of life in the Susquehanna River Basin.

Skip Wieder is currently the Sr. Vice President Emeritus and Sr. Consultant for Geisinger Health System and Vice Chair of WVIA – the public television and radio broadcasting affiliate in northeastern Pennsylvania.

Among his many notable environmental contributions, Mr. Wieder is a founding member and director of the Susquehanna River Heartland Coalition for Environmental Studies. The coalition is an emerging watershed organization covering the entire West Branch Susquehanna River Watershed in Pennsylvania and comprised of six colleges and universities, the Department of Environmental Protection, Geisinger Health System, and regional governmental, land conservancy and planning organizations.

Its current projects include: monitoring water quality in the Lower West Branch Susquehanna River between Lock Haven and Sunbury; assessing the effectiveness of riparian buffers for reducing non-point source pollution in the Chillisquaque Creek at PPL’s Montour Preserve; developing a field station and a mobile education and research center; assessing the endangered Lamp Mussel in White Deer Creek; and planning for a Susquehanna River Symposium in fall 2006.

Mr. Wieder was also recognized for his significant leadership and commitment to:

· WVIA’s production of the Susquehanna River documentary, Looking to the River. This film features the critical environmental issues of the Middle Susquehanna region and the impact of the entire Susquehanna watershed on the Chesapeake Bay.

· Geisinger’s environmental advocacy program, which is working to improve the quality of life within the Susquehanna watershed. The program includes researching important health issues and understanding their relationship to water quality – information that could have far-reaching benefits to people in the Susquehanna River and Chesapeake Bay watersheds.

“Skip Wieder not only has tremendous vision, he has the drive and unique ability to bring together the partnerships currently working effectively to improve water quality and raise awareness,” said Paul Swartz, SRBC executive director. “As a protector of the Chesapeake Bay, William Jeanes was vigilant about the quality and quantity of the water coming from the Susquehanna River, the bay’s largest tributary. Skip Wieder shares that same vigilance about the Susquehanna River and as such he exemplifies the values of SRBC’s William Jeanes Award.”

William W. Jeanes, Sr. lived from 1909 to 1987. He was born in Wayne, Pennsylvania, and graduated from Harvard University in 1931 with degrees in Engineering and Geology. He lived most of his life in the upper Chesapeake Bay region in Maryland where he became actively involved in the preservation of the Chesapeake Bay.

Among his many notable contributions, Williams Jeanes was the co-founder of the Upper Chesapeake Watershed Association in 1952 and served as the group’s president for eight years.

During his involvement with the watershed association, Jeanes led the group as an intervener during the relicensing proceedings of the four hydroelectric dams on the lower Susquehanna River. As interveners, the watershed association worked to ensure that fish passage facilities would be provided at the dams and that adequate minimum flows would be maintained to the bay from the Conowingo Dam – the last dam before the Chesapeake Bay.

For more information, visit SRBC’s William W. Jeanes, Sr. Award for Environmental Excellence webpage for a description of the award and a list of past recipients.

3/17/2006