HARRISBURG -- If you love wildlife and the outdoors, there’s a 1.5-mile stretch of Hartstown Road just outside of Linesville in Crawford County that has always been a must see.
A key attraction there will be returning soon.
The Pennsylvania Game Commission last week broke ground on a new Pymatuning Wildlife Learning Center. Construction is to complete next spring, with a grand opening planned for spring of 2027. Like the previous wildlife center, which closed in 2014 after more than 75 years in operation, the new facility will be located on Ford Island. But the new center will be a much larger, more modern, and more user-friendly than its predecessor.
“Today we stand at the threshold of a new era at the Pennsylvania Game Commission,” Game Commission Northwest Region Director Jesse Bish said at the May 19 groundbreaking. “As we break ground, we aren’t laying the foundation for the center, but an experience for hunters and nonhunters alike.”
The new center will, inside its walls, encompass 9,000 square feet of floor space. That will make it 450% bigger than the old wildlife visitor center. The exhibit area, meanwhile, will be about 400% larger.
While design work is still underway, with final decisions on the exact lineup of exhibits to be determined, visitors can expect a variety of informative and interactive displays, some permanent, some seasonal and/or rotating, focusing on wildlife, hunting, forestry and more. The centerpiece will be a life-sized eagle nest.
There will also be an auditorium and large windows for wildlife viewing, too.
Outside the center will be an interpretive walking trail, a wildlife viewing platform, a pollinator garden, and more.
Together, those amenities will afford visitors the opportunity to discover Pennsylvania’s wild birds and mammals, the management strategies the Pennsylvania Game Commission uses to conserve these species and their habitats, and the role that hunters and trappers play in conserving wildlife for current and future generations. The learning center will also showcase the unique wetland habitat and wildlife species found throughout the Pymatuning area.
Ford Island is the perfect place for doing all that, too. It’s located on the shore of Pymatuning Lake, the largest reservoir in the state. The Game Commission, meanwhile, owns and manages the adjacent Pymatuning Wildlife Management Area, comprised of State Game Lands 214, a controlled hunting area, and a wildlife propagation area.
“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.”
The groundbreaking for the center also was attended by Game Commission Executive Director Stephen Smith, retired Pymatuning Wildlife Learning Center manager Terry McClelland, and state lawmakers Sen. Michele Brooks, R-50, and Rep. Brad Roae, R-6, who provided remarks regarding the Pennsylvania Game Commission’s investment in wildlife education and conservation efforts in the region.
The Pennsylvania Department of General Services is responsible for administering the Pymatuning Wildlife Learning Center project. The general, HVAC, plumbing, and electrical contractors 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, respectively. Architectural and engineering services are being provided by Moshier Studio of Pittsburgh. All were chosen through a competitive bid process.