Powdermill Nature Reserve

Powdermill Nature Reserve is the environmental research center of Carnegie Museum of Natural History, located in Rector, PA amidst the biodiverse Laurel Highlands. For more information about Powdermill, visit the website.

Available images for media use only. For more information, please contact Media & Communications Manager Leigh Kish at 412.622.3361 or KishL@carnegiemnh.org.

Photos not otherwise credited should be credited to Carnegie Museum of Natural History.

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Dr. Graham Netting, founder of Powdermill Nature Reserve

PROGRAMS

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1. Young visitor examining specimens on a microscope

2. Workshop participants sorting specimens

3. Summer campers learning how to properly handle birds to be banded

4. Summer campers learning about stream biodiversity

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5. Summer campers collecting and identifying specimens

6. Summer campers gathered around The Living Stream exhibition

7. Participants in BioForay identifying flora and fauna in a mapped grid

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8. Workshop participants identifying specimens

9. Workshop participants examining stream biodiversity

10. Carnegie Museum of Natural History Curator of Mollusks Timothy Pearce, PhD, left, assists a BioForay participant in identifying a species of land snail

FACILITIES

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1. Birds of the Ligonier Valley exhibition in the Nature Center Headquarters. (Credit: Stan Franzos for Carnegie Museum of Natural History)

2. The Living Stream exhibition in the Nature Center Headquarters. (Credit: Stan Franzos for Carnegie Museum of Natural History)

3. Bird Diversity and Populations touchscreen in the Nature Center Headquarters. (Credit: Stan Franzos for Carnegie Museum of Natural History)

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4. Special Exhibitions Gallery displaying Fur, Feathers & Fossils: The Art of Mark A. Klingler for the opening of the Nature Center Headquarters. (Credit: Stan Franzos for Carnegie Museum of Natural History)

5. Visitors using the Bird Diversity and Populations touchscreen at the opening of the Nature Center Headquarters. (Credit: Stan Franzos for Carnegie Museum of Natural History)

6. Entrance corridor in the Nature Center Headquarters. (Credit: Stan Franzos for Carnegie Museum of Natural History)

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7. Remarks and acknowledgments in the Parker Classroom at the opening celebration for the Nature Center Headquarters. (Credit: Stan Franzos for Carnegie Museum of Natural History)

8. Storage cubbies in the educational area of the Nature Center Headquarters. (Credit: Stan Franzos for Carnegie Museum of Natural History)

9. Outdoor amphitheater at the Nature Center Headquarters. (Credit: Stan Franzos for Carnegie Museum of Natural History)

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10. & 11. The Marsh Machine, a natural method for sustainable wastewater treatment. Water purified in the Marsh Machine is recycled for use elsewhere in the Nature Center Headquarters.

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12. & 13. Views of the Nature Center Headquarters

RESEARCH

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1. John Wenzel, PhD, Director of Carnegie Museum of Natural History's Center for Biodiversity and Ecosystems, of which Powdermill Nature Reserve is a core component

2. Ongoing research includes several studies of plant ecology and systematics, the influence of acid rain on tree growth, aquatic ecology, and effects of the gypsy moth on the Appalachian forest.

3. Eastern Bluebird. Avian research at Powdermill was started in 1961. Powdermill has banded an average of about 10,000 birds annually over the course of the program's nearly 50-year history. (Credit: Adrienne Leppold/Powdermill Nature Reserve)

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4. Hooded Warbler. Avian research at Powdermill was started in 1961. Powdermill has banded an average of about 10,000 birds annually over the course of the program's nearly 50-year history. (Credit: Robert Mulvihill/Powdermill Nature Reserve)

5. Monarch caterpillar. (Credit: Joe Stavish/Powdermill Nature Reserve)

6. Spotted salamander. Ongoing research includes several studies of distribution and abundance of amphibians and reptiles at Powdermill.

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7. A typical sunrise over the Bird Banding headquarters.

8. Indigo Bunting. Avian research at Powdermill was started in 1961. Powdermill has banded an average of about 10,000 birds annually over the course of the program's nearly 50-year history. (Credit: Adrienne Leppold/Powdermill Nature Reserve)

9. Scarlet Tanager. Avian research at Powdermill was started in 1961. Powdermill has banded an average of about 10,000 birds annually over the course of the program's nearly 50-year history. (Credit: Robert Mulvihill/Powdermill Nature Reserve)

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10. Box turtle. A long-term study begun at Powdermill in 1958 by Dr. Graham Netting continues today under the direction of Powdermill Research Associate Dr. Walter Meshaka of the State Museum of Pennsylvania. Long-term study provides the unique opportunity to answer questions regarding the growth, longevity, nesting, and seasonal movements of these long-lived Powdermill residents.

11. Since 2002, Walter E. Meshaka, Jr., PhD, Curator of Zoology/ Botany at the State Museum in Harrisburg, has been carrying out a long-term study on snake diversity and populations at Powdermill.