Pennsylvania Energy Impacts Assessment

The Nature Conservancy-Pennsylvania Chapter, The Western Pennsylvania Conservancy and Audubon Pennsylvania recently released an assessment of energy exploration and development in Pennsylvania. The assessment was funded with support from Heinz Endowments, RK Mellon Foundation and William Penn Foundation. Highlights of the report are below. For the complete report go to http://www.nature.org/media/pa/tnc_energy_analysis.pdf.
 * About 60,000 new Marcellus wells are projected by 2030 in Pennsylvania with a range of 6,000 to 15,000 well pads, depending on the number of wells per pad;

 * Wells are likely to be developed in at least 30 counties, with the greatest number concentrated in 15 southwestern, north central, and northeastern counties;

* Nearly two thirds of well pads are projected to be in forest areas, with forest clearing projected to range between 34,000 and 83,000 acres depending on the number of number of well pads that are developed. An additional range of 80,000 to 200,000 acres of forest interior habitat impacts are projected due to new forest edges created by well pads and associated infrastructure (roads, water impoundments);
* On a statewide basis, the projected forest clearing from well pad development would affect less than one percent of the state's forests, but forest clearing and fragmentation could be much more pronounced in areas with intensive Marcellus development;
* Approximately one third of Pennsylvania's largest forest patches (greater than 5,000 acres) are projected to have a range of between 1 and 17 well pads in the medium scenario;
* Impacts on forest interior breeding bird habitats vary with the range and population densities of the species. The widely-distributed scarlet tanager would see relatively modest impacts to its statewide population while black-throated blue warblers, with a Pennsylvania range that largely overlaps with Marcellus development area, could see more significant population impacts;
* Watersheds with healthy eastern brook trout populations substantially overlap with projected Marcellus development sites. The state's watersheds ranked as "intact" by the Eastern Brook Trout Joint Venture are concentrated in north central Pennsylvania, where most of these small watersheds are projected to have between two and three dozen well pads;
* Nearly a third of the species tracked by the Pennsylvania Natural Heritage Program are found in areas projected to have a high probability of Marcellus well development, with 132 considered to be globally rare or critically endangered or imperiled in Pennsylvania. Several of these species have all or most of their known populations in Pennsylvania in high probability Marcellus gas development areas.
* Marcellus gas development is projected to be extensive across Pennsylvania's 4.5 million acres of public lands, including State Parks, State Forests, and State Game Lands. Just over 10 percent of these lands are legally protected from surface development.
* Integration of conservation features into the planning and development of Marcellus gas well fields can significantly reduce impacts. For example, relocating projected wells to open areas or toward the edge of large forest patches in high probability gas development pixels in the southern Laurel Highlands reduces forest clearing by 40 percent and forest interior impacts by over a third.

PDA Secretary Urges Hunters to Share the Harvest

Harrisburg – Hunters can help food banks, soup kitchens and pantries feed Pennsylvanians in need by donating deer meat to a statewide distribution network, said Agriculture Secretary Russell C. Redding today.

Redding visited Diller’s Custom Deer Processing in Enola, Cumberland County, to promote Hunters Sharing the Harvest, a program that encourages hunters to donate deer for processing into ground venison for the state’s hungry residents.

“With more than 1.3 million Pennsylvanians at-risk for hunger, it’s important for everyone to lend a hand,” said Redding. “I encourage hunters to do their part by donating to the Hunters Sharing the Harvest program.”

Hunters can take their deer to one of 125 participating meat processors throughout the state and identify how much of the venison – from several pounds to the whole animal – they wish to donate. Anyone donating an entire deer is asked to make a minimum $15 tax-deductible contribution to help cover processing costs. The program covers all remaining fees.

The Department of Agriculture, through the federal Emergency Food Assistance Program, contributes $0.85 per pound of venison donated towards reimbursing meat processors.

Established in 1991, Hunters Sharing the Harvest today covers 53 participating counties and provides more than 750,000 meals annually to food banks, churches and social service feeding programs. Last year, hunters donated nearly 100,000 pounds of venison to more than 4,000 emergency food assistance agencies through the state’s 21 regional food banks.

“Across Pennsylvania, the number of citizens at risk for hunger increases every year,” said Kendall Hanna, executive director of the Central Pennsylvania Food Bank. “Hunters Sharing the Harvest provides food that is high in protein and lean. We are extremely grateful for hunters’ participation in the program and for their support of Pennsylvanians in need.”

To learn more about the program or to obtain a list of participating meat processors, visit www.sharedeer.org or call, toll-free, 866-474-2141.

Pennsylvanians Urged to Heed Emerald Ash Borer Quarantine When Hauling Firewood During Winter Months

Harrisburg – Agriculture Secretary Russell C. Redding reminded Pennsylvanians—particularly those that heat their homes using wood—that the Emerald Ash Borer quarantine remains in effect in 43 counties. The quarantine is designed to restrict the movement of ash materials and all hardwood firewood and wood chips.
“Consumers who use wood to heat their homes and businesses are urged to burn local firewood only and heed the restrictions on moving firewood from within the quarantined area,” said Redding. “By obeying the quarantine, we can help limit the further spread of the beetle.”
The Emerald Ash Borer is an invasive, ash tree-killing beetle that threatens the state’s $25 billion hardwoods industry.
This summer, the department’s Emerald Ash Borer survey crews collected nearly 6,900 samples and tested 500,000 specimens from among 6,000 purple panel traps from ash trees in 21 counties.
The beetle has been found in 18 counties, including Allegheny, Armstrong, Beaver, Bedford, Butler, Centre, Clarion, Cumberland, Fulton, Indiana, Juniata, Lawrence, Mercer, Mifflin, Somerset, Union, Washington and Westmoreland.
As a result, the Agriculture department expanded its quarantine to include counties where the beetle was found this year, as well as in the contiguous counties of Blair, Cambria, Cameron, Centre, Clarion, Clearfield, Clinton, Columbia, Crawford, Cumberland, Elk, Erie, Fayette, Forest, Franklin, Fulton, Greene, Huntingdon, Jefferson, Lycoming, McKean, Montour, Northumberland, Perry, Potter, Snyder, Somerset, Tioga, Union, Venango and Warren.
The quarantine is intended to restrict the movement of ash nursery, green lumber, and any other ash material, including logs, stumps, roots and branches, from the quarantine area. Because it is difficult to distinguish between species of hardwood firewood, all hardwood firewood and wood chips—including ash, oak, maple and hickory—are considered quarantined.
The wood-boring beetle is native to China and eastern Asia. The pest likely arrived in North America in wooden shipping crates. It was first detected in July 2002 in southeastern Michigan and neighboring Windsor, Ontario, Canada. In addition to Pennsylvania, the beetle is attacking ash trees in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New York, Ohio, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia and Wisconsin.

Emerald ash borer galleries in infested ash tree