The Montandon Marsh is one of the few remaining diverse riparian wetlands ecosystems in central Pennsylvania, along the west branch of the Susquehanna River. Its Environmental significance has been hailed by local and regional conservancy groups because of its role as a refuge for migratory waterfowl, as a permanent home for many wetlands birds, and as home to the rare spade-foot toad. Marsh plant communities are diverse; containing sundew, sphagnum, and cranberry characteristic of Pocono bogs, while it is also home to bullrush and sedge communities normally found on the Atlantic coastal plain.
Studies at the Montandon Marsh by Bucknell University faculty and students began in March, 1991 and may continue for several more years, even after an operation begins to mine the area of its rich alluvial sand and gravel deposits. Over the years, a network of monitoring wells has been installed through student independent research projects and as classroom laboratory projects for classes in hydrogeology, geomorphology, and environmental hazards. In cooperation with the gravel company and other local landowners, Bucknell University uses this site as a training site for students in geology and environmental sciences.
Bucknell students Andrea Larsen and Lara Valigorsky are "Waltzing in Waders" as they hand-auger for a hallow monitoring well in the Montandon Wetlands.
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