Where Water’s Meet – Partnerships in Conservation
Program with Abstracts
A copy of the 2025 symposium proceedings is available for download. Complete with schedule of events, list of exhibitors, and abstracts for 61 oral and poster presentations that feature the work of 115 authors. The Program also has embedded Zoom links for Friday’s Keynote and Saturday morning’s Plenary presentations. All other events are in-person.
The Program with Abstracts is 92 pages in length and 6.5 Mb in size, so it may take 10-15 seconds to appear in your browser or download to your mobile device or computer, depending on your internet connection speed.
Schedule
The Forum (Room 272), Elaine Langone Center
6:00 – 6:10 pm
Welcome and Opening Remarks
Jonathan Duncan
Executive Director, Pennsylvania Water Resources Research Center
(PAWRRC)
Associate Professor, Dept. of Ecosystem Science and Management, The Pennsylvania State University
6:15 – 6:55 pm – Keynote address
Dr. Jack Schmidt
Director: Center for Colorado River Studies
7:00 – 9:00 pm – Poster Presentations and Exhibits
8:00 – 9:00 pm – Evening Social
8:00-9:00 am – Walk-in registration and self-guided tour of research posters in the Terrace Room (Rm. 272). Coffee and refreshments available.
MORNING EVENTS
The Forum (Room 272), Elaine Langone Center
9:00 -9:10 am
Welcome and Opening Remarks
Ghislaine McDayter, Associate Provost, Bucknell University
9:10 – 9:15 am
Introduction
Benjamin Hayes, Symposium Chair
9:15 am – 9:45 am — Plenary talk #1
Aquatic Ecology
Rick Spear, Aquatic Biologist Supervisor, PA Department of Environmental Protection
9:45 am – 10:15 am – Plenary talk #2
Landscape History
R. Craig Kochel, Fluvial Geomorphologist and Professor of Geology, Bucknell University
10:15 – 10:30 am – Intermission
10:30 – 11:00 am – Plenary talk #3
Process Based Stream Restoration
11:00 – 11:30 am – Plenary talk #4
Impacts of Flooding
11:30 am – 12:00 pm – Plenary Speaker Panel Discussion
AFTERNOON EVENTS
12:00 – 1:00 pm
Lunch
Walls Lounge (Room 231)
1:00 – 3:00 pm – Oral Presentations
3:00 – 3:10 pm – Wrap-up and Closing
Coming Together to Inspire Change
This symposium draws together people from all walks of life who share a common interest in rivers, watersheds, communities, and the connections therein. It also offers a time and a place where the public can interact with academics, professionals, and regulators, all working toward the same goal – ensuring our watersheds remain healthy for generations to come.This year’s event celebrates 20 years of river symposia
Commitment to Care
We are hosting this year’s symposium as an in-person event so that all individuals onsite — attendees, speakers, staff, vendors, and venue personnel — remain safe and comfortable. Creating a safe, worry-free symposium experience is our top priority. We are following the guidance of our partners at Geisinger Medical Center, the Pennsylvania Department of Health, and the Center for Disease Control for large, public events.
2024 Keynote speaker Charles Cravotta, III, Ph.D., P.G, with students and faculty who presented posters at last year’s River Symposium.
Getting Here
Please feel free to use the helpful links below to plan your trip to the River Symposium
Testimonials
“This is a terrific event! It’s great to see the students present their posters on Friday night and attend the talks and breakout sessions on Saturday. I made a lot of contacts too.” (member of the public)
““I get a lot out of the plenary talks, breakout discussions, oral presentations, and conversations over lunch. I learned so much and plan to come back next year.” (undergraduate student)
“I really appreciate the friendly and welcoming atmosphere of this symposium. It’s a great networking event too. The evening social during Friday’s poster session and the lunch and refreshments during the exhibits are a very nice touch.” (member of local conservancy)
“I really appreciate the friendly and welcoming atmosphere of this symposium. It’s a great networking event too. The evening social during Friday’s poster session and the lunch and refreshments during the exhibits are a very nice touch.“I like how this symposium tries to weave together art, religion, science, economics and policy. I hope Bucknell continues it for many years to come.“ (local citizen)
The annual River Symposium is an educational community outreach event sponsored by the Bucknell Center for Sustainability & the Environment, the Susquehanna River Heartland Coalition for Environmental Studies, and the Pennsylvania Water Resources Research Center at Penn State University.
For more information, please contact Ben Hayes (brh010@bucknell.edu) or Sean Reese (spr016@bucknell.edu).