The Appalachian Mountain Club has launched a new ”Marcellus Shale’s Greatest Treasures” interactive website featuring first-hand accounts of the impact of natural gas development by people who rely on the public lands and waters in Pennsylvania’s Marcellus Shale region for outdoor recreation.

Through personal stories and photos, this new website gives Pennsylvania residents and visitors an opportunity to better understand and discuss natural gas development on and near public forests, parks, trails, and waterways. The individual stories represent a variety of outdoor recreation perspectives, including hikers, paddlers, hunters, and rock climbers, as well as popular destinations such as Pine Creek Gorge, Ricketts Glen, and Ohiopyle.

The Marcellus Shale formation, which stretches from New York to Virginia, contains an estimated 84 trillion cubic feet of natural gas. It also spans some of the most beautiful and least developed parts of Pennsylvania, including large sections of the Poconos, the Allegheny National Forest, and the Delaware Water Gap. Over half of Pennsylvania’s state parks lie within this shale region and are threatened by natural gas development, and about one third of its state forests are already leased for natural gas extraction.

Key features of AMC’s “Marcellus Shale’s Greatest Treasures” website include:

-- An interactive map of Pennsylvania’s Marcellus Shale region;

-- Sixteen personal stories and photographs from hikers, paddlers, hunters, and rock climbers highlighting public lands and waterways negatively impacted by natural gas development or imminently threatened by these activities;

-- A trail logbook and additional resources for recreationists to learn about and report gas industry impacts on outdoor experiences through the FracTracker website; and

-- The opportunity for visitors to contribute their own “Marcellus Story” and photo.

Fracking puts the Marcellus Shale area at greater risk of environmental impacts such as forest fragmentation, noise and light pollution, and water contamination that could affect drinking water supplies for millions of people. Public access and viewsheds for recreationists are also compromised.

More than 2,000 natural gas drilling sites already exist in the state, with mounting environmental infraction citations. Significantly more fracking on public lands is possible, since nearly 240,000 acres of the state's parkland has privately-held mineral rights, and the state has leased 700,000 acres of its forests for drilling. 

“The Marcellus Shale Greatest Treasures website is important because it reminds people that special places in the great outdoors are frequently threatened, even when they are public lands that are supposed to be permanently protected,” said story contributor Jeff Mitchell. “The time has come to bring balance and preserve places like Rock Run and the Old Loggers Path, which could be adversely impacted by natural gas drilling. Otherwise, all we will be left with is pictures of what we once had.” 

“From discovering the Delaware River by kayak to finding solace and spiritual renewal while hiking at Worlds End State Park, the emotions conveyed through these stories about the cherished places, now threatened by natural gas development, cannot be overstated,” said Cathy Frankenberg, Mid-Atlantic Policy Associate for the Appalachian Mountain Club. “By sharing these stories, we hope people become more aware of the many treasures in the Marcellus Shale region and the potentially devastating environmental impact that natural gas extraction could have on this area, especially without appropriate regulatory oversight.”

AMC is committed to conservation of the Appalachian region’s natural and recreational resources and works to better engage the public in understanding and participating in decision-making around energy development projects across the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast.

AMC’s natural gas policy places special emphasis on protecting public lands by minimizing drilling activity siting and impacts, safeguarding public access, providing for land stewardship, evaluating air and water quality considerations, and minimizing greenhouse gas emissions.

“Marcellus Shale’s Greatest Treasures” was generously funded in part by the Claneil Foundation. Founded in 1968, the Claneil Foundation is a private foundation located in the Philadelphia region that seeks to improve the health of families and communities through advancements in health and human services, a sustainable food system, education and the protection of the environment. 

AMC is officially launching the site at a “Green Drinks” event on Wednesday, March 6th in Philadelphia at Earth Bread + Brewery (Mt. Airy) from 6:00 – 8:00 p.m., and the public is invited to attend for a presentation and Q&A with AMC’s Mid-Atlantic policy staff and some of the individual story contributors.

For AMC’s position on natural gas development, visit the AMC website.   

3/11/2013