Netting was born in
Wilkinsburg, Pennsylvania. He had a long career at the
Carnegie Museum of Natural History in
Pittsburgh, where he was Curator of the Section of Amphibians and Reptiles from 1931 to 1954. (He was succeeded by Curator
Neil D. Richmond.) Netting served as Director of the Carnegie Museum of Natural History from 1954 to 1975. In 1935, Netting and Leonard Llewellyn discovered the
Cheat Mountain salamander (
Plethodon nettingi), a species unique and endemic to
West Virginia. He was Secretary (1931–1947) and President (1948–1950) of the
American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists. In the mid-1950s, Netting helped create the Carnegie Museum of Natural History's field station,
Powdermill Nature Reserve. He also helped found many environmental organizations in Pennsylvania including the
Western Pennsylvania Conservancy. ==References==