Delay Equals Opportunity…make your voice heard!

Last week’s expected House floor action on the Save the Forests bill (HB 2235) – to protect the best parts of our state forest land from gas drilling – was pushed back to next week. HB 2235 would impose a five-year freeze on new leasing of state land for gas drilling until the state can study the impacts of drilling on natural resources and hunting, fishing, camping, hiking and other uses of the forest. The bill’s proponents are working to gain strong bipartisan support for the bill.

If you haven’t already done so, contact your representative in the State House and asking her/him to vote for the bill. Don’t let this opportunity to help save the forest pass by.

Stand up for what you believe in – You know what’s at stake!

Pittsburgh – Philadelphia – Ohiopyle – Harrisburg

It’s time to show up and be counted

SHOW YOUR SUPPORT FOR OUR STATE FORESTS

Stand up for what you believe in – You know what’s at stake!

Be a Hero for our Forests
Attend an event to show your support for protecting our precious state forests from further natural gas drilling and for an impact fee to ensure drillers pay their fair share

Currently the state legislature is moving forward with a budget plan that relies on new natural gas drilling leases on state forest land to cover the budget shortfall – threatening our public natural resources and compromising public access to our forest land.

We need forest heroes- our legislators and Governor Rendell must pledge not to support a budget that relies in drilling in forests. Instead, they need to enact a gas extraction impact fee to pay for the damage to natural resources and communities that drilling causes. Our legislators need to support the impact fee and the Save our Forests legislation (HB 2235), which puts a five year freeze on new deep natural gas drilling leases in state forests.

Come to one of these events to stand up for our forests:

April 14, 12:15 – 12:45 p.m. – Philadelphia
Demonstration to Save Pennsylvania’s Forests
Gov. Rendell’s Southeast Office
200 South Broad Street (near Broad and Walnut).
Join us during your lunch hour as we conduct a fun demonstration with a local arts group to show support our remarkable state forests.

April 15, 12:00 – 2:00 p.m. – Ricketts Glen
Picnic in Ricketts Glen State Park to Save Pennsylvania’s Forests
Rickets Glen State Park Picnic Pavilion #2
695 State Route 487, Benton, PA 17814
Gather your friends and family and join us for a relaxing lunch in the park to show your support for protecting our state forests and to simply enjoy the beauty of Ricketts Glen State Park.

April 17, 9:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.- Philadelphia
Annual PennFuture Watershed Workshop: Bold Action to Protect Water Quality in Philadelphia and Beyond
Friends Center, 1501 Cherry St, Philadelphia, PA 19102
This workshop will discuss changes Philadelphia is making to ensure the health of our waterways and take a look at Marcellus Shale natural gas drilling, and why it is relevant to local water quality.

April 20, 12:00 – 1:00 p.m.- Pittsburgh
Rally for the Trees to Save Pennsylania’s Forests
Portico steps of the City-County Building, 414 Grant St, Pittsburgh, PA  15219.
Grab your friends and spend your lunch hour showing your support for Pennsylania’s state forests.

April 20, 5:30 – 7:30 p.m. – Ohiopyle
Celebrate Our Forests – and learn more about gas drilling
Ohiopyle Stewart Community Center
15 Sherman Street, Ohiopyle, PA 15470
Learn more about natural gas drilling – what it is and what the impacts will be – and share your stories about what our state forests mean to you.  We’ll deliver your stories to elected officials on Earth Day in Harrisburg.

April 22, 10:30 – 11:30 a.m. – Harrisburg
Earth Day Rally to Protect Penn’s Woods
Pennsylvania State Capitol Main Rotunda
Gather your friends, postcards, and signs and join us in a rally encouraging our legislators to protect Penn’s Woods.

Coordinator www.PaForestCoalition.org

Uh-Oh!

Beneath Pennsylvania’s forests lies a treasure worth billions of dollars.

by Isaiah Thompson

Our capitol may be a cesspool of corruption — hello, Bonusgate — but we’ve got us a real nice state forest. Pennsylvania is one of nine states whose forests are certified “sustainable” by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC).

But even that proud jewel could get buried in the dung. Beneath Pennsylvania’s forests, beneath a big piece of rock known as the Marcellus Shale, lies another treasure — natural gas, worth billions of dollars, some of it on state-owned land. Uh-oh.

You can read the rest of this article at:

http://citypaper.net/articles/2010/02/04/pennsylvania-forestry-drilling-natural-gas

Marcellus Shale Muster!!!

Marcellus Shale Muster – January 30, 2010

A Muster to build a strong coalition
in support of a natural gas extraction tax and protection of public forest and park land

Nittany Lion Inn, State College, 10:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

Join the fight to:

• Require big drilling companies to pay a severance tax on the extraction of Marcellus Shale gas so we can invest in the land, water wildlife and communities “hosting” the drilling;
• Protect the precious resources our state forests provide and stop them from being treated like an ATM machine, by imposing a moratorium on further leasing of public land for gas drilling until we know the environmental and economic impacts;
• Ensure that the Oil and Gas Lease Fund is used primarily for conservation purposes so our children are left with more than empty gas wells and degraded public lands.

We cannot do this alone. We need you to join the campaign to ensure that gas drillers pay their fair share to the people of Pennsylvania for the use of their natural and community resources and to gain adequate protection of our state forest and park lands.

At the Summit you will:

• Hear from key legislative leaders about the importance of a severance tax on natural gas drilling;
• Get a briefing about the challenges of managing gas drilling on state forest and state park land;
• Learn how profitable the Marcellus Shale deposit is for gas drillers;
• Find out how volunteers are becoming watch dogs;
• Find out how you can help build a strong campaign.

Cost to attend the Muster is $25; registration is required. Click here to register toda