History of the Leetown Science Center

In 1930-31 the U.S. Fisheries Experimental Station was established in Leetown, West Virginia, and was operated by the U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Fisheries, Division of Fish Culture and Division of Scientific Inquiry.  In 1939 the Station was transferred to the DOI Bureau of Fisheries.  In 1940, the Bureau of Fisheries and the Biological Survey were consolidated to form the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) within the Department of the Interior.   In 1944 the station transferred to the Division of Game Fish and Hatcheries and Fishery Biology and renamed the U.S. Fish Cultural Station.  Sometime around 1959 station was again renamed, to the Leetown National Fish Hatchery and Research Station, and transferred to the Bureau of Sport Fisheries and Wildlife within the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.  In the early 1970’s the USFWS Division of Fishery Ecology Research took over the administration of the Station.  In 1977 the station was designated as The National Fisheries Center–Leetown.  At this time The National Fisheries Center took over program supervision of six other USFWS research and development components scattered across the nation (Tunison Laboratory of Fish Nutrition; Hagerman, Idaho, Field Station; the Southeastern Fish Cultural Laboratory; the Fish Farming Experimental Station; the National Fisheries Research and Development Laboratory; and, the Fish Genetics Laboratory).  Five of these six components were closed or transferred outside of the LSC following a programmatic shift in DOI research priorities that acted to minimize fish culture based research.

In 1993, the DOI Secretary transferred The National Fisheries Center–Leetown to the new U.S. Biological Survey, established within the DOI.  In 1995, the U.S. Biological Survey, along with The National Fisheries Center–Leetown,  was transferred to the U.S. Geological Survey and became the Biological Resources Division (BRD).  Upon its transfer to the U.S. Geological Survey, BRD, the National Fisheries Center–Leetown was renamed the Leetown Science Center.  The Center is currently headquartered in Leetown, West Virginia, on approximately 466 acres in the “Eastern Panhandle” region of West Virginia, approximately 70 miles west of Washington, DC.  The site is noted for its supply of cold-water springs, extensive water holding and distribution systems, and modern research pond facility which provide outstanding support for the conduct of a wide variety of aquatic research.  Research currently underway at Leetown, as well as its satellite laboratories in Turners Falls, Massachusetts and Wellsboro, Pennsylvania, is aligned with the mission of the USGS:

           “…serve the Nation by providing reliable scientific information to describe and understand the Earth; minimize loss of life and property from natural disasters; manage water, biological, energy, and mineral resources; and enhance and protect our quality of life.”

This role is further supported in a broader context by the DOI mission to:

           “ …protect and manage the nation’s natural resources and cultural heritage; provide scientific and other information about those resources; and honor its trust responsibilities or special commitments to American Indians, Alaska natives and affiliated Island Communities.”

In 2010, USGS management was realigned from a structure associated with disciplines – Geography, Geology, Biology (BRD) and Hydrology – to an issue-based organization along the lines of Science Strategy.  The resulting organization focuses on seven science mission areas:  Climate and Land Use Change, Core Science Systems, Ecosystems, Energy and Minerals, Environmental Health, Natural Hazards and Water.  LSC’s research is conducted primarily in the Ecosystems Mission Area.  The Ecosystems Mission Area (EMA) Strategic Science Plan (USGS, 2012) establishes the overall Discipline vision:

            “ USGS will be a leader in Ecosystem Science by providing unbiased scientific information to the forefront of decision making processes that affect the Nation’s natural resources and human well-being.”

The mission focuses upon high quality science and the need to determine the status and trends of the Nation’s biological resources and threats to these resources, and to provide the information required for wise stewardship of natural resources on public lands.  This focus is further defined by five goals and supporting objectives. The goals of the EMA are to:

• Improve understanding of ecosystem structure, function and processes.
• Advance understanding of how drivers influence ecosystem change.
• Improve understanding of the services the ecosystems provide to society.
• Develop tools, technologies and capacities to inform decision making about ecosystems.
• Apply science to enhance strategies for management, conservation and restoration of ecosystems.