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It’s that most wonderful time of the year again, an chance to participate in the generous act of giving. Yes, of course we are referring to the annual opportunity to vote for the Pennsylvania River of the Year.

On Wednesday the state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources announced online voting has begun for the 2023 winner. Alas, you can’t vote for any river or waterway you like, the choice is limited to four nominees:

• The Conestoga River, a 61.6-mile tributary to the Susquehanna River that runs through Lancaster County.

• Perkiomen Creek, a tributary to the Schuylkill river that streams 37.7 miles through Berks, Lehigh and Montgomery counties.

• The Schuylkill River, with a prominent history thanks to its path from Tuscarora northwest of Allentown to the Delaware River, weaving through Philadelphia, past the historic Boathouse Row and the notorious Schuylkill Expressway.

• The North Branch of the Susquehanna, which should need no introduction to Luzerne County residents. It runs straight through our county from northeast to southwest, though we usually just refer to it as a the Susquehanna. Technically, the two branches merge into a single “Susquehanna” at Sunbury.

So, yeah, we admit it, we favor the North Branch for this. We unabashedly encourage everyone to go to the Pennsylvania Organization for Watersheds and Rivers (POWR) website, pawatersheds.org, and cast a vote for the river that runs through us. We may be prejudiced, but honestly, it deserves it. Just consider the POWR information provided for potential voters.

For more than 300 million years, “the North Branch is a waterway rooted in history and unparalleled beauty. Steep forested hills, staggering cliffs, Native American lookout points and sacred sites, remains of historic canals and ferry systems, quaint downtowns, and countless connections to industrial booms like the anthracite coal period of the 1800s are unique reminders of this water trail’s fascinating past and unrivaled magnificence.”

It “is widely used by paddlers, anglers, recreational boaters, and wildlife enthusiasts. Recreationalists enjoy the calm, class-I waters which serve as both a playground for experienced boaters to explore the area’s natural and historic offerings, as well as a learning ground for new and novice paddlers to develop their skills.”

The North Branch is by far the longest of the waterways nominated, and by dint of length and location it arguably has the richest,most diverse history of the bunch — the “Susquehanna River Water Trail’s North Branch earned a “national Recreation Trail” designation from the National Park Service in 2009. And the POWR site points out that honor was “part of the larger Captain John Smith Historic Trail system; a recreation trail that celebrates the exchange of goods and cultures between the early, famed explorer of the Chesapeake Bay and the native peoples of the Susquehanna River basin.

True, our river has, from time to time, become violent and unruly, causing substantial damage to communities along the banks, but that is literally the nature of rivers. You want all the benefits of a flood plain, you must grapple with the “flood” part.

Voting runs through 5 p.m. Friday, Jan. 14. There is only one vote per email address, and you have to enter an address to submit your vote.

— Times Leader