PA Ends Funding of Three Rivers Research Center
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
20 April 2010
By Don Hopey
The Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission decided today to sink the
Three Rivers Ecological Research Center, which was established four
years ago to assess river conditions and conduct research on issues
affecting game and non-game fish species.
The commission voted to end its funding of the center based in the
Terminal Buildings on the South Side because it said, "anticipated
funding streams failed to materialize."
"When the center was first established in 2006, the goal was to make it
self-sustaining," said PFBC Executive Director John Arway. "We expected
that the 3RERC would leverage funding from other sources to enhance its
work and advance its development as a hub for research, ecology and
education. Unfortunately, securing additional grants has been extremely
difficult."
The center, which was headed by Sue Thompson, a former curator at the
Carnegie Museums, has operated with funding support from a $420,000
State Wildlife Grant from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Those
funds have been used and the commission said it decided to allocate
future Wildlife Service funding to other projects.
Mr. Arway, who headed the commission's Environmental Services Division
before his appointment as executive director March 2, said the
commission would continue its work on the Allegheny, Monongahela and
Ohio rivers from its southwest fisheries management office in Somerset
County.
Don Hopey: dhopey@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1983.