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.