31-05-2025
2027 grand opening target set for new Pymatuning Wildlife Learning Center
Eleven years after the closure of the Pymatuning Wildlife Learning Center outside Linesville, the Pennsylvania Game Commission on May 19 broke ground on a new center that is expected to be complete in spring 2026.
A grand opening is planned for spring 2027, the Game Commission said in a statement.
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'Today we stand at the threshold of a new era at the Pennsylvania Game Commission,' Northwest Region Director Jesse Bish said at the groundbreaking. 'As we break ground, we aren't laying the foundation for the center, but an experience for hunters and nonhunters alike.'
The previous learning center was in service for more than 75 years until it closed in 2014. The new center will be larger, modern and more user-friendly when it goes up on Ford Island, the Game Commission said.
At 9,000 square feet of floor space, the new center will be 450% larger and the exhibit area about 400% greater than the former learning center.
Final exhibits have yet to be determined. The centerpiece, the Game Commission said, will be a life-sized eagle nest, along with an auditorium and large windows for wildlife viewing.
An interpretive walking trail, wildlife viewing platform and pollinator garden will be part of the grounds.
'The impact of the center will extend far beyond the property boundaries of the grounds we are standing on today,' said Game Commissioner Kristen Koppenhafer, from District 1 in northwestern Pennsylvania. 'It will reach the surrounding community and local businesses, becoming a source of regional pride and demonstrating that we all have a stake in conservation. It's an investment that the Pennsylvania Game Commission could not be prouder to make.'
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The Pennsylvania Department of General Services is administering the project. Contractors selected through competitive bids are Fred L. Burns Inc., of Shippenville; Rabe Environmental Services Inc., of Erie; Wm. T. Spaeder Co., of Erie; and Penn Ohio Electrical Co., of Masury, Ohio. Mosher Studio, of Pittsburgh, is handling architectural and engineering services.
This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: PA Game Commission's Pymatuning Wildlife Learning Center breaks ground
