Western Pennsylvania Conservancy
Appoints New Director of Aquatic Science

(Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.  January 4, 2007)  Eric Chapman has joined the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy’s Freshwater Conservation Program as Director of Aquatic Science. He will be working on several of WPC’s freshwater conservation initiatives, with a significant focus on advancing WPC’s work on the Allegheny and Ohio Rivers, the Little Mahoning Creek Protection and Restoration Project, and numerous other major projects. 

“Eric brings a strong scientific background that should prove to be a wonderful resource for the region’s grassroot conservation groups that rely on us for free technical assistance,” noted WPC’s Senior Director of Freshwater Conservation Nick Pinizzotto. “And he will interface well with our organization’s conservation science program.”

“I am excited to apply my educational and professional backgrounds to projects ranging from streambank restoration to creating aquatic sanctuaries along the Allegheny and Ohio Rivers,” Chapman said. “WPC is a dynamic and well-respected organization and I am proud to be a part of their staff.”     

Eric has a B.S. in Biology from Indiana University of Pennsylvania and a M.A. in Environmental Science from Montclair State University, New Jersey. He has several years of aquatic science experience, which includes time as a research scientist at CUNY, Queens College, NY and Montclair State University. He also served as a consultant for The Gaia Institute, Bronx, NY, and MATRIX New World Engineering, Inc., East Hanover, NJ, where he investigated invertebrate range delineations at West Point Military Academy. He also has experience conducting SCUBA and field research, as well as GPS and GIS technologies.

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About the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy:
Since its founding in 1932, the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy has protected more than 212,000 acres of natural lands in Pennsylvania, restored watersheds and saved natural habitats for a diversity of life and uses.  The Conservancy has been responsible for the founding of six state parks, including Ohiopyle, Laurel Ridge, McConnell’s Mill, Moraine, Oil Creek and Erie Bluffs.  In addition, WPC created the 300-acre Wildflower Reserve at Raccoon Creek State Park, and added land to Blue Knob State Park.

The WPC also preserves Fallingwater®, the masterpiece home designed in 1935 by Frank Lloyd Wright for Edgar J. Kaufmann in Mill Run, Pennsylvania.  In 1963, Edgar Kaufmann jr. (sic) entrusted Fallingwater to the Conservancy.  Today, WPC continues its award winning preservation efforts and offers a wide variety of educational programs to more than 135,000 annual visitors.  The preservation of Fallingwater is a symbol of living in harmony with nature. 

Each year, WPC also partners with 5,000 volunteers and dozens of community organizations and businesses to plant and maintain more than 135 gardens and greening projects in 20 western Pennsylvania counties.