State Forests

Industry groups and some legislators oppose the gas severance tax and instead want to dramatically accelerate drilling on publicly owned forestlands to generate revenues for the state.

Those calling for increased drilling fail to recognize that:

Decisions about how one of the Commonwealth’s greatest resources are managed and used should be made by sound scientific research focused on long-term sustainability, not by short term revenues. After a lease of 32,896 acres in May 2010 to fill a $112 2010-2011 budget gap and a January 2010 lease sale to raise money for the 2010-2011 budget, the Commonwealth has leased 434,896 acres of State Forest in the Marcellus Fairway. Industry has access to an additional 290,000 acres of State Forest where the gas rights were previously severed. This means that 724,896 acres or 35% of State Forests are already fully open for Marcellus gas drilling. How many Marcellus wells have been drilled on these 724,896 acres? … Nine! It is sensible to evaluate what gas development does to the 35% of State Forest open for Marcellus gas drilling before opening more forest to drilling. With only nine wells drilled, this clearly will take some time.
Our State Forests are our greatest public asset, protecting our highest quality streams, providing public recreation, supporting tourism, and providing a sustainable timber supply. As such, we should exercise balance and restraint in considering opening additional lands for drilling. Before we rush to lease our remaining State Forest Lands, we should evaluate the impacts of current gas leases on water and air quality, wildlife, public recreation, including hunting, fishing and wildlife watching, and the general health of our forests.
Our public foresters worked hard to achieve sustainable management certification of our State Forests. Rampant, unplanned leasing of our State Forests not only jeopardizes ecologically sound forest management, it also threatens our forests’ third-party certification.