The Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) yesterday held a private, closed-door meeting with a handpicked audience of "local stakeholders" to discuss a proposal from Anadarko Petroleum Corporation to drill for natural gas in an extraordinary 25,000-acre tract of the Loyalsock State Forest in Lycoming County known as the Clarence Moore lands. An unusual deed gives DCNR the ability to control most of the surface of the tract even though the mineral estate is not owned by the Commonwealth.
PennFuture and other statewide organizations were deliberately excluded from the meeting. The meeting took place seven months after our organizations called on DCNR to allow the public to have input, including public comments and public meetings, as the agency makes far-reaching decisions on the future of these public lands. Yesterday, 28 organizations representing over 100,000 Pennsylvanians — a "coalition of the excluded" — delivered a letter to DCNR Secretary Richard Allan calling on the agency to open a public comment period and hold public hearings before resuming any negotiations with Anadarko on the future of the Clarence Moore lands.
The media was also excluded from the meeting, but you can get a sense of the meeting via coverage by the Williamsport Sun-Gazette (check out the stills showing the use of the State Police to ensure no uninvited citizens could attend) and WNEP-TV. The Sun-Gazette also weighed in with a fine editorial prior to the meeting.
Secretary Allan made two very interesting and telling statements yesterday. Allan first stated that DCNR had no policy, no record and no intention of holding public meetings on gas drilling on state forest lands. The problem for Allan is that according to retired DCNR officials, during the Ridge administration, DCNR held numerous public meetings to gain input from citizens as the agency considered development of the Trenton Black River deep gas reserves on state forest lands.
PennFuture and other statewide organizations were deliberately excluded from the meeting. The meeting took place seven months after our organizations called on DCNR to allow the public to have input, including public comments and public meetings, as the agency makes far-reaching decisions on the future of these public lands. Yesterday, 28 organizations representing over 100,000 Pennsylvanians — a "coalition of the excluded" — delivered a letter to DCNR Secretary Richard Allan calling on the agency to open a public comment period and hold public hearings before resuming any negotiations with Anadarko on the future of the Clarence Moore lands.
The media was also excluded from the meeting, but you can get a sense of the meeting via coverage by the Williamsport Sun-Gazette (check out the stills showing the use of the State Police to ensure no uninvited citizens could attend) and WNEP-TV. The Sun-Gazette also weighed in with a fine editorial prior to the meeting.
Secretary Allan made two very interesting and telling statements yesterday. Allan first stated that DCNR had no policy, no record and no intention of holding public meetings on gas drilling on state forest lands. The problem for Allan is that according to retired DCNR officials, during the Ridge administration, DCNR held numerous public meetings to gain input from citizens as the agency considered development of the Trenton Black River deep gas reserves on state forest lands.
Allan then said that input into the future of the these lands would be limited to the private meeting for "the people who do have a local, direct interest in this tract of land."
Wow. What an astonishing statement by the secretary of DCNR, the agency charged with conserving, maintaining, managing and protecting our state forests for the benefit of ALL Pennsylvanians including generations yet to come.
Do the taxpayers of Pennsylvania who financially support the Loyalsock State Forest not have a say in these decisions? Do the citizens of the Commonwealth who don't happen to live in Lycoming County, but who hike, fish, hunt, watch wildlife and recreate in the Loyalsock State Forest, not deserve input? These citizens who visit also spend millions of dollars supporting local economies — and are encouraged to do so through the Pennsylvania Wilds, an acclaimed sustainable tourism initiative developed and managed by DCNR. What about the intrinsic value of preserving our natural heritage for those who may never visit?
Wow. What an astonishing statement by the secretary of DCNR, the agency charged with conserving, maintaining, managing and protecting our state forests for the benefit of ALL Pennsylvanians including generations yet to come.
Do the taxpayers of Pennsylvania who financially support the Loyalsock State Forest not have a say in these decisions? Do the citizens of the Commonwealth who don't happen to live in Lycoming County, but who hike, fish, hunt, watch wildlife and recreate in the Loyalsock State Forest, not deserve input? These citizens who visit also spend millions of dollars supporting local economies — and are encouraged to do so through the Pennsylvania Wilds, an acclaimed sustainable tourism initiative developed and managed by DCNR. What about the intrinsic value of preserving our natural heritage for those who may never visit?
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And what of the next generation who will want to enjoy and explore Penn's Woods. Allan's remarks made me think about my two-year-old son, Tucker, who at a young age started hiking and picnicking along the renowned Old Loggers Path hiking trail that runs through the Clarence Moore tract. What sort of natural heritage will be left to Tucker if his interests don't count to DCNR and I and others can't speak for him at a public meeting?
The public deserves a say in the future of these public lands. DCNR is heading down a dangerous path. Everyone who values and cares about the future of Penn's Woods should be concerned.
The public deserves a say in the future of these public lands. DCNR is heading down a dangerous path. Everyone who values and cares about the future of Penn's Woods should be concerned.
