Hunters Station Project Leaders & Team Earns PA Governor’s Excellence Award

HARRISBURG, PA (March 22, 2017)— EnviroScience would like to congratulate District Environmental Specialist Autumn Kelley from PennDOT District 1, Fisheries Biologist Jordan Allison from Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission, and the Project Team for receiving the “Governor’s Award for Excellence” for the Hunter Station Bridge Replacement Project.   Governor Tom Wolf awarded the recipients on March 22, 2017 in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.

Of the eighty-two state nominations received, only five individual and four group nominations were chosen as winners this year.  The award recognizes individuals for their outstanding work on projects that have a significant impact on the lives of Pennsylvania residents.

Other Project Team award recipients include PennDOT District 1 employees Chris Wolfgong, Environmental Planner; Marc Rickard, Environmental Planner; Jeanette Uhl, Highway Design Manager; Antonia Zawisa; and Larry Lineman, Traffic Control Specialist.  To see the full list of recipients, visit here.

During the Hunter Station project, over 130,000 endangered freshwater mussels were salvaged and relocated to prevent a 44-mile detour for approximately 1,100 vehicles per day[1].  The project likely represents the largest endangered species salvage and reintroduction effort ever completed.  The effort will help re-establish the mussel species in their historic range throughout Pennsylvania, Ohio, New York, West Virginia, Kentucky, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, and the Seneca Nations of Indians.

Greg Zimmerman (pictured on bottom row, far right) was the EnviroScience project manager and directed the efforts of over twenty-five EnviroScience staff, including five malacologists, ten divers, and ten topside tagging and processing staff.  He led the coordination of over twenty-five state and federal stakeholders and will continue monitoring oversight until 2020.  Read more.

[1] http://www.dcnr.state.pa.us/cs/groups/public/documents/news/DCNR_20032872.pdf