What the Gas Companies Don’t Want You to Know



Drilling Negatively Impacts Wildlife

Bird netting is not used. Migratory fowl and other game birds have access to open drilling pits and toxic material.

Drilling companies do not erect adequate wildlife fences. A short three foot snow fence will not exclude deer and other wildlife - who are drawn to the salty chemicals found at the drilling pits.

USDA and state food safety and inspection services have quarantined livestock who have come into contact with drilling fluids to avoid possible human consumption of potentially contaminated meat. Wildlife agencies are not taking the same safeguards and hunter-harvested game is being consumed despite possible health risks.

Light pollution has affected bird migrations and affects many species ability to navigate at night. One hundred and forty one species of birds are negatively impacted by artificial light, especially songbirds.

Gas development has harmed sage grouse populations in western Wyoming, while in Alaska, geese have been affected. Out west, drilling activities have impacted elk and their habitat especially during the construction and drilling phases. Drilling activities have forced pronghorn antelope and mule deer to increase their winter ranges.

The Eastern Brook Trout Joint Venture found that habitat fragmentation and sedimentation are two of the major impacts limiting the health of brook trout populations.

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Newfield Appalachia PA LLC

Photo Credit: John Penney

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Before Consuming Wild Game, Fowl or Fish Harvested From Within a Gas Field, Ask Yourself:

• What are the implications for the wildlife, especially deer, living in gas fields?

• How susceptible are they to soil, air and water pollutions which are an inevitable part of the industry and drilling process?

• How can wildlife, especially deer, be protected from consuming potentially poisonous material at a drill site if fences to keep them out are not properly erected?

• Will it be safe to consume the meat from any wild game if the animal eats something inappropriate?

• Will venison be tested for pollutants?

• Does the Department of Environmental Conservation or the Department of Agriculture and Markets have the authority to and means of approving

hunter-harvested game for consumption?

• Should the Venison Donation Program willingly accept this meat?

PUBLIC TESTIMONIES

Conservationists and labor leaders testified that energy development on public land is failing wildlife and squeezing out hunters and anglers. (EWG report “Rigged Game”)

Inspectors found evidence that Marcellus Shale waste fluids had impacted Alex Branch [PA], a wild trout stream and high-quality fishery. Tests of drinking water at a nearby hunting camp revealed barium four times above the state and federal drinking water limits. (July 2009 Field and Stream Magazine)

Some hunters have been affected by gas drilling. One sporting goods store owner reported that hunters complained that they lost their traditional hunting spots in Susquehanna County [PA] last deer season [2009] when the areas were deemed off limits due to gas drilling activity. (Times Leader May 23, 2010)

Even in areas where gas companies halted operations for the first week of deer season, hunters were affected, complaining that in the Hop Bottom and Springville [PA] areas, the gas companies were out before the season with helicopters laying cables for seismic testing. The process was noisy and that scared a lot of deer out of the area and changed their patterns. (Times Leader May 23, 2010)

“Even if everything is done right,” says Steve Kepler, fisheries biologist with the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission, “if all the water withdrawals comply with regulations and all other protections are in place, the impact is still going to be huge. These places just aren’t going to be the same anymore.” (March 2007 Field and Stream Magazine)

Drilling in the Allegheny National Forest, PA Source: Allegheny Defense Project

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Hunting Concerns

• Is it possible to hunt on leased land? Will the lease allow for this? Will the activity that’s taking place and all the people involved be at risk? Will the workers wear hunter orange? Will the well workers remain in a designated area to ensure their own safety?

• Is it safe to fire a gun in a gas field? What happens if there is a leak and a gun is fired? What happens if a bullet hits a well head or pipeline?

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One Fortuna representative stated that hunting is never allowed in a gas field. Open lanes won’t make for great hunting if it’s not allowed!

Gas Drilling Awareness Cortland Co. gdacc.

Co-sponsored by Sierra Club Finger Lakes Group:

Killing the Golden Goose,

By Edward Wilson, vice president of 10,000 Friends of Pennsylvania

In the 12-county Pennsylvania Wilds region of north central Pennsylvania, DCNR has spent more than $140 million over six years to construct elk-watching facilities, build trails, upgrade state parks and enhance the experience of visitors to the region.

Other agencies made complementary investments in tourism marketing, infrastructure improvements and environmental restoration projects.

Research shows that these investments already are paying off in terms of increased visitation, visitor spending, tourism-related employment and tax revenues in a part of the state that desperately needs new economic opportunities.

By rushing to open tens of thousands of additional acres of state forest land to gas drilling, however, the state risks killing the goose that lays the golden egg of tourism.

Excessive drilling will permanently change the aesthetics of the state forests, restrict access to trails, disturb habitat, interfere with hunting and fishing, and generally make our public lands less attractive to visitors.

State forests should be managed to benefit all Pennsylvanians, and that includes extracting resources in ways that are compatible with sound environmental stewardship. Let's not balance the budget on the back of our public land without understanding how much drilling the forests can handle and taking steps to minimize the impacts.

A Comparison of NYS Revenues

Source: John Schwartz, Ithaca College, Ithaca, NY

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"There are certain places where responsible development means leaving areas just as they are. By no means are we asking industry to quit drilling. We're simply asking for a cautious approach that protects the hunting and angling heritage…" Brad Powell, former U.S. Forest Service Regional Forester and Trout Unlimited's Energy Policy Director.

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