|
Fish technology center dedicated in Bozeman
November 16, 2009
editor@montanaliving.com
August 2004
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's Bozeman Fish Technology Center
announces the dedication of a new 16,500-square-foot laboratory and
administrative building as the Robert G. Piper Building, after former
Center Director and renowned fish culturist Robert Piper, a current
resident of Bozeman, Montana. The public is invited to the dedication of
the Piper Building located at 4050 Bridger Canyon Road in Bozeman on
Wednesday, August 18, at 10:00 a.m. Following the dedication ceremony, the
Center will be hosting tours of the facility.
"I am proud of the outstanding work that has gone into this
architectural achievement, and I'm confident the Piper Building will prove
invaluable to fisheries nationally and locally in Montana," said Center
Director, Bill Krise. "We also anticipate the Piper Building and Center
grounds will become an asset to the local community."
Krise would like to see the facility evolve into a place for tourists
and local community groups to learn about the U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service's fisheries program, and local fisheries research and conservation
issues. The Center grounds provide the public an outstanding opportunity to
bird watch, take walks, and enjoy the beautiful setting along Bridger
Creek. Groups, families or individuals interested in tours are encouraged
to schedule a tour during regular work hours. Tours for drop-in visitors
are dependent on workloads and personnel availability.
The Piper Building provides 7 new state-of-the-art laboratories for
a range of applications from organic and inorganic chemistry needed in fish
nutrition and contaminants studies to fish physiology and necropsy
necessary for fish reproduction and culture research. In addition, the
Piper Building contains 13 offices, a library, as well as a small and large
conference room. Architect Nick Marshall of Eskew, Dumez and Ripple in New
Orleans, designed the building of cedar and aluminum siding accented with
steel roofing, copper paneling, flagstone rock walls and black slate tile.
The Piper Building also features two large indoor aquaria and an outdoor
pond viewing area for public education and enjoyment.
The Bozeman Fish Technology Center is located at the mouth of Bridger
Canyon in Bozeman, Montana and is home to research programs for threatened
and endangered fish reproduction and culture, the Aquatic Animal Drug
Approval Program, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research
Service trout nutrition program and several Montana State University
research projects related to fisheries. Also, located on the property is
the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's Fisheries Management Assistance
Office, which assists states and tribes with a variety of fisheries issues.
Currently, the Center assists in recovery of pallid sturgeon in
cooperation with Federal and State partners. The Center also maintains the
only captive brood stock of fluvial Arctic grayling, native to the Big Hole
River in Montana. Other projects include efforts to approve drugs for use
on aquatic animals through the Food and Drug Administration and research
into effective, sustainable and economical fish feeds for use in
conservation of sensitive fish species and recreational and commercial
fisheries.
Established in 1892, the Center is the site of one of the oldest
Federal fish hatcheries in the country and retains some historic
structures. In 1983, the site became the Bozeman Fish Technology Center,
one of seven such technology centers nationwide intended to address
fisheries conservation and management needs.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is the principal Federal agency
responsible for conserving, protecting and enhancing fish, wildlife and
plants and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American
people. The Service manages the 95-million-acre National Wildlife Refuge
System, which encompasses 544 national wildlife refuges, thousands of small
wetlands and other special management areas. It also operates 69 national
fish hatcheries, 64 fishery resources offices and 81 ecological services
field stations. The agency enforces federal wildlife laws, administers the
Endangered Species Act, manages migratory bird populations, restores
nationally significant fisheries, conserves and restores wildlife habitat
such as wetlands, and helps foreign and Native American tribal governments
with their conservation efforts. It also oversees the Federal Assistance
program, which distributes hundreds of millions of dollars in excise taxes
on fishing and hunting equipment to state fish and wildlife agencies.
|
|
