Pennsylvania's 20 state forests encompass more than 2.2 million acres, giving residents year-round access for pursuits such as hiking, snowmobiling, boating, hunting and fishing.
But with a budget shortfall looming in Harrisburg and the Marcellus Shale industry expanding in the region, sportsmen say they are worried. Their concern: balancing the books at the expense of shrinking state forest areas.
In a letter addressed to Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett ahead of Tuesday's state budget address, advocates from organizations including Trout Unlimited, National Wildlife Federation, Pennsylvania Forest Coalition and United Bowhunters of Pennsylvania are asking him to honor the moratorium then-Gov. Ed Rendell placed on new drilling operations in October 2010.
Citing studies from the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, the groups argue any additional land leased for oil and gas development could have a significant impact on the "wild character and ecological integrity of the state's forest system."
About 700,000 acres of state forests - almost one-third of the state forest land - is already leased for gas extraction by DCNR.
Some residents and sportsmen are saying enough is enough.
Letter to Corbett
"One of the biggest concerns is that we know there's a shortfall in the state budget," Katy Dunlap, Eastern Water Project director for Trout Unlimited, said.
Although no additional state forest land has been leased for drilling since the moratorium, sportsmen's groups remain "concerned" there is a possibility of increased development should Corbett seek alternative means to cover budget expenses, she said.
"The state has an obligation to manage its public lands in a way that they conserve and maintain them for current generations," including Pennsylvania's hunting and fishing heritage, Dunlap said.
Access to lands once used for hunting and fishing is now blocked as the drilling industry establishes well sites to extract the natural gas from the Marcellus Shale play.
The letter from the groups was not addressed or answered by the administration, Dunlap said.
Representatives from the governor's office could not disclose the content of the governor's state budget address but reiterated the moratorium on new drilling remains in effect.
Marcellus Shale
Buried in Pennsylvania, at depths anywhere from 5,000 to 8,000 feet, Marcellus Shale is a geological formation believed to hold trillions of cubic feet of natural gas, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection.
The gas - which has become an integral part of the commonwealth's natural resources industry - is extracted through a horizontal drilling process known as hydraulic fracturing, more commonly referred to as fracking. Operators pump a mixture of water, sand and other chemicals below the surface under extremely high pressure to fracture the shale and allow natural gas to be extracted, according to the DEP.
Since the development of the Marcellus Shale industry in 2005, the DEP has issued 9,946 permits for well sites on private and publicly-owned lands, DEP Information Specialist Kevin Sunday said. Of those permits, only 4,561 wells have been drilled across the commonwealth, Sunday said.
In the letter sent to Corbett on Jan. 26, Trout Unlimited and other groups argued that increased degradation of state forests could hurt the $4.3 billion fishing, hunting and wildlife-related industry in Pennsylvania.
But industry experts contend that the 700,000 acres of state forest land leased by the state pales in comparison to privately leased lands currently being explored for drilling.
"For context, there's been oil and natural gas development on taxpayer-owned land in the commonwealth for generations," Kathryn Klaber, Marcellus Shale Coalition president, said. "To date, natural gas development on taxpayer-owned land has helped generate tens of millions of dollars for important programs benefiting all Pennsylvanians, creating countless local jobs along the way.
"And while only a small fraction of natural gas development from Pennsylvania's Marcellus Shale is occurring on taxpayer-owned land, with the overwhelming majority taking place on private land," Klaber continued, "it would be shortsighted to unnecessarily foreclose future opportunities to safely produce more clean-burning energy on state land.
"We can, and must, balance this development while protecting our environment," she added.
Altering the landscape
The Marcellus Shale Advisory Commission, a group comprised of state, industry and environmental officials, submitted a list of 96 recommendations to the Corbett administration last year. One recommendation stated "any future leasing of state forest land should be limited to agreements which result in no or minimal surface impact to Commonwealth-owned land, and prohibits surface disturbance in high conservation value forests and other ecologically important areas."
"Of course, a big issue is erosion and sediment control," Sunday said. "The forested areas in these parks have very valuable watersheds and wetlands, and so it's vital that we work with the industry to mitigate these impacts during development."
Dunlap said even if surface disruptions are avoided, the forests will still feel an impact. Infrastructure such as roads or pipelines necessary to maintain existing wells could be expanded along the forests' edges, causing disruptions in continuous areas of forest, creating a "patchwork" effect in the ecosystem.
The loss of tree cover could also affect stream temperature, which would have an adverse effect on fish such as trout in Pennsylvania's waterways, she said.
In October, the Corbett administration announced the implementation of numerous recommendations from the Marcellus Shale Advisory Commission. Among them: moving the minimum distance of wells from 100 feet to 3,000 feet when adjacent to a water source and imposing stricter fees for spills.
The changes - many of which can be accomplished without significant legislation, according to the governor's office - will help to regulate the industry and protect Pennsylvania's forests, officials said.
"We need to have world-class performance from the operators, and we're getting close to that," Sunday said.
Future legislation
Environmental advocacy groups and outdoor enthusiasts remain hopeful the moratorium on new drilling will remain in effect after Tuesday's state budget address.
"We don't have any indication that a lease of state forest lands is included in the governor's budget proposal," DCNR press secretary Christina Novak said. "DCNR is working diligently on managing the state forests where gas development is occurring to avoid impacts, minimize them where we do have activity and monitor the impacts so that information can inform our practices moving forward."
Although unable to disclose the exact details of the address, Eric Shirk, deputy director of communications for the governor's office, said there "are no imminent plans to lift the moratorium."
With drilling altering the forest landscape across the state, sportsmen remain wary of the possibility of further expanding Marcellus Shale industry and leasing more state forest lands.
"Pay attention now to where your favorite hunting and fishing locations are now," Dunlap said. "And make sure your voice is heard."
