Are you a hunter, angler, hiker, or other outdoors-person living in South-central or Southeast Pennsylvania?  Do you have something to say to Marcellus shale gas drilling companies about their operations in the state?

Audubon Pennsylvania and the Ruffed Grouse Society have partnered with the Marcellus Shale Coalition to sponsor four “Listening Sessions” to bring conservation group representatives together to ask questions, discuss concerns, and partner on habitat restoration opportunities.

The listening sessions will be held:

-- August 27, 9:00 a.m. – Noon at the John James Audubon Center at Mill Grove, near Valley Forge, PA 1201 Pawlings Road, Audubon, Pa; 

-- August 27, 2:00 p.m. –  5:00, Cabela’s (upstairs meeting rooms), 100 Cabela Drive, Hamburg, Pa;

-- August 28, 9 a.m. – Noon, Dauphin County Wildwood Park Nature Center, north end of 100 Wildwood Road, Harrisburg, Pa; and

-- August 28, 2:00 p.m. – 5:00, NRCS Farm & Home Center, 1383 Arcadia Road, Lancaster, Pa.

Now that the natural gas industry has been active in Pennsylvania for several years, there is a track record that offers factual information about the impacts associated with drilling for, producing, and delivering natural gas. A facilitator will help us  develop a thoughtful list of environmental concerns, and a list of suggestions for addressing them.

Also, given that habitat changes will occur in much of the state due to Marcellus gas drilling and pipeline construction, we have an opportunity to be pro-active regarding what happens to these sites once gas extraction is completed.  

Can we create early successional (young) forests to reverse the downward trend of bird populations that depend on this habitat — such as ruffed grouse, American woodcock, and golden-winged warbler?  How can the natural gas drilling industry be a partner in this effort?

We need to know who plans to attend which session in order to reserve the proper size rooms.      

If you plan on coming, please confirm by emailing one of the contacts below and which session you plan to attend: Mike Zagata at: mzagata@stny.rr.com or Paul Zeph at: pzeph@audubon.org.  Directions available upon request

8/13/2012