ALTOONA, Pa. — A collaboration between Penn State and Shell USA Inc. is supporting efforts across the University’s mission of research, education and community impact. An initial commitment from Shell of more than $1 million is funding initiatives focused on energy transition, decarbonization, polymer recycling and biodiversity.
One of those funding initiatives supports an environmental research project, led by Carolyn Mahan, a professor of biology and environmental studies at Penn State Altoona, on Shell’s Falcon Pipeline. The 97-mile common carrier ethane pipeline, owned and operated by Shell Pipeline Company, runs across parts of southwestern Pennsylvania, West Virginia and eastern Ohio.
The pipeline began operations in 2020, and the study area for the Falcon Conservation Project contains six sites within a 30-acre section that runs parallel to the Montour trail in Washington County, Pennsylvania.
Mahan and her team are studying the effects of pipeline right-of-way vegetation management on native plants and wildlife with a goal of maintaining habitats and biodiversity through strategic conservation practices. A right-of-way is a type of legal land easement that may be established to permit the construction of infrastructure such as pipelines, electric transmission lines or roads. This three-year research endeavor is part of Shell Pipeline’s Right-of-Way Conservation program.
In September, Shell held an event that brought together Mahan and her research team, various Penn State departments, local government officials and the public to tour the research site and to share information about the project.