Ecological Society in Pgh Through Friday

The Ecological Society of America is in Pittsburgh this week for its annual meeting.

Following a Sunday tour of Four Mile Run in Greenfield and Nine Mile Run in Frick Park, ecologists will attend various symposiums about current issues in the field – many of which impact southwestern Pennsylvania.

University of Pittsburgh Assistant Professor of Hydrology Dan Bain says there will be presentations on the effects of mountaintop removal coal mining and Marcellus Shale natural gas drilling. Bain says he’ll also speak on the restoration of the “world-famous” Nine Mile Run.

“Most restorations tend to happen out in rural areas, where there aren’t quite as many problems, aren’t quite as many people, but this is one within an urban system that people actually like,” says Bain. “Lots of times, you get to urban restorations and one group or another just doesn’t like what happens, because compromises do have to be made.”

Bain says the $7.7 million makeover of Nine Mile Run changed the heavily polluted waterway into one of the longest urban stream restorations in the country.

A full list of this week’s presentations can be found at the ESA website.