Receiving more than 5,400 votes, the Shenango River was voted as Pennsylvania’s 2021 River of the Year.

The Shenango received 5,436 out of 16,494 votes, beating out four other Pennsylvania waterways, Buffalo Creek, Lehigh River, Loyalhanna Creek and Tunkhannock Creek, according to a joint statement from the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) and Pennsylvania Organization for Waterways and River (POWR) on Monday.

“The River of the Year selection does much more than focus on attributes of the most-deserving Shenango, it recognizes the Shenango River Watchers and other supporters who rallied behind it,” DCNR Secretary Cindy Adams Dunn said in a statement. “This annual honor recognizes not only our state’s wealth of rivers and streams, but also the core of dedicated folks who fight to protect them.”

Founded in 2001, the Shenango River Watchers has removed more than 1.5 million pounds of trash from the Shenango River watershed. The group is the only one in Mercer County focused on the cleanup, preservation and protection of the Shenango River. The group also puts on more than 20 annual events.

“We are thrilled to have the Shenango River chosen as the Pennsylvania River of the Year. This is a great honor, not just for the Shenango River Watchers, but for our region as a whole,” said Brandi Barso, Shenango River Watchers president.