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Marcellus Shale, climate change, money, politics and the environment
A mix that calls for optimism and caution
Second in a series
by Sharon Corderman
Free Press-Courier
The 2009-10 state budget that Gov. Rendell signed one month ago calls for $60 million to be transferred from the Oil and Gas Lease Fund into the General Fund this fiscal year. That money is to be generated by leasing more state forest land for natural gas drilling.
Monday, the secretary of the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR), John Quigley, announced that six tracts of land are being offered for lease. The lease offering amounts to 31,967 acres.
Nearly 22,000 of the acres for lease lie in Tioga and Potter counties.
In announcing the plan, Quigley said DCNR had been especially diligent in evaluating which tracts to make available. “For about a year, DCNR has been working to prepare a lease sale. We chose these tracts of land after extensive environmental reviews to protect the health of the forest now and in the future, to allow for gas and timber extraction and public recreation, and to keep ecosystems intact that support a diversity of wildlife and plants. In total, these tracts represent a little more than 1.5 percent of our total state forest land,” he said.
by Sharon Corderman
Free Press-Courier
The 2009-10 state budget that Gov. Rendell signed one month ago calls for $60 million to be transferred from the Oil and Gas Lease Fund into the General Fund this fiscal year. That money is to be generated by leasing more state forest land for natural gas drilling.
Monday, the secretary of the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR), John Quigley, announced that six tracts of land are being offered for lease. The lease offering amounts to 31,967 acres.
Nearly 22,000 of the acres for lease lie in Tioga and Potter counties.
In announcing the plan, Quigley said DCNR had been especially diligent in evaluating which tracts to make available. “For about a year, DCNR has been working to prepare a lease sale. We chose these tracts of land after extensive environmental reviews to protect the health of the forest now and in the future, to allow for gas and timber extraction and public recreation, and to keep ecosystems intact that support a diversity of wildlife and plants. In total, these tracts represent a little more than 1.5 percent of our total state forest land,” he said.
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| What to do with your gas money |
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