Susquehanna Stories: Meet eel whisperer Aaron Henning

• Karen Hendricks/WITF
  BioRecent Stories

  

  Karen Hendricks hosts WITF’s Morning Edition, heard weekdays from 5-9am. She enjoys navigating the news of the day with listeners, weaving together WITF’s compelling regional coverage with NPR’s unbiased reporting from around the globe—while simultaneously being a reliable, friendly voice as your morning companion.
  
  Karen is an award-winning, lifelong journalist. Her work has garnered more than 20 state and national journalism awards. Her true passion is bringing stories of everyday heroes to light: Her story about a weekend warrior pulling trash out of the Susquehanna River, for the York Daily Record, earned a national first-place award from the Society for Features Journalism.
  
  A Philadelphia-area native and Lock Haven University graduate, Karen has called Central Pennsylvania home for 30+ years. She’s worked for media outlets throughout the Mid-Atlantic Region and Central Pennsylvania, including Harrisburg, Lancaster, York and Gettysburg.
  
  She considers her family and three adult children her brightest, best accomplishments. She and her husband enjoy exploring our national and state parks. She’s writing a memoir about running 50 races to benefit 50 causes when she was 50.

 Susquehanna River Basin Commission / SRBC

Aaron Henning holds a Silver Eel in Pine Creek.

If Pennsylvania had an “eel whisperer” or “eel ambassador” it might be Aaron Henning, an aquatic biologist with the Susquehanna River Basin Commission.

In this podcast, he demystifies this snake-like fish to explain why this native species is so unique, and why it was historically vital to Pennsylvania’s Native American populations.

Henning also explains why American Eels virtually disappeared from Susquehanna River waterways over the years – and how they’re now making a comeback.

We also learn how, ten years ago, Henning created the program “Eels in the Classroom,” now flourishing in 81 school districts across the Susquehanna River watershed in Pennsylvania, Maryland, and New York. And on a personal note, he explains why “Eels in the Classroom” honors the memory of his mother.

Susquehanna Scout, hosted by journalist Karen Hendricks, is a weekly podcast by WITF that explores the Susquehanna River and its ripple effects across Pennsylvania and beyond.