The next Rachel Carson Forum on the Future of the Environment on June 15 will feature a program on the restoration of the Monongahela River fish community of southwestern Pennsylvania. The forum will take place at noon in the Rachel Carson building auditorium, 400 Market St., Harrisburg.

The speaker will be Dr. David Argent, Associate Professor of Biological and Environmental Sciences at California University of Pennsylvania. He and his colleague, Dr. William Kimmel, are attempting to document the biological recovery of the Monongahela River and its tributaries within Pennsylvania.

Over the past 100 years, the Monongahela River Valley has been impacted by thousands of abandoned coal mines, as well as agricultural and urban run-off. During surveys conducted in the mid-1950s, researchers found the River largely devoid of aquatic life.

However, recent surveys by researchers and students at California University of Pennsylvania are finding a wide variety of fishes, including some rare and endangered species. Perhaps most encouraging is the variety of size classes and overall health of all collected specimens.

Dr. Argent is a life member of the American Fisheries Society and will soon take over as President of the Pennsylvania AFS Chapter. His presentation will focus on recent surveys of the Monongahela River Valley and its tributaries, documenting the variety of aquatic life present today, the challenges of sampling a big river system, and the future direction of his research.

Questions about the Forum can be directed to Don Brown at brownd@state.pa.us .

6/9/2006