ACTION: Click HERE to say NO to the Canyon Mine.

In January 2011 environmentalists believed that they had a mayor victory when the Obama Administration decided to protect the Grand Canyon from uranium mining in nearby Kaibab National Forest. Now the Forest Service has granted Energy Fuels Resources permission to resume mining that was suspended more than 20 years ago. The Sierra Club is among a group suing the Forest Service based on the argument that the old permission was based on a flawed environmental study. Get more information below: (more…)

Photo of dry Duke Lake, Ryerson SP. Photo: Steven Sunshine, The Center for Public Integrity.

For eight years activists have claimed that long-wall mining caused the collapse of the dam at Duke Lake in Ryerson Station State Park, Greene County. On April 24 CONSOL Energy agreed to pay the state $36 million to cover the cost of rebuilding the dam, without formal recognition that the failure of the dam in 2005 was related to the operation of long-wall mining in the nearby Bailey Mine. Expressing disappointment with the lawsuit settlement between CONSOL and DCNR, Patrick Grenter of the Center for Coalfield Justice said. “We are proud that our fight over the years has resulted in the restoration of Duke Lake, but we are outraged that CONSOL has managed once again to avoid meaningful responsibility for its own destructive negligence. That doesn’t sound like accountability to me.” In a side note, part of CONSOL’S settlement is payment for a lease to drill for shale gas under the park from wells outside the park.

Photo: Friends of Rock Run

If you really wanted to damage a prime natural area with industrial shale gas extraction, it would be hard to chose a better site place than the Rock Run watershed in Loyalsock State Forest in Sullivan County, northeast of Williamsport. Rock Run is often referred to as “the prettiest stream’ in Pennsylvania, a stream that the state should be protecting with the utmost effort. The state does not own the mineral rights beneath a portion of the Rock Run watershed, but according to the 1983 deed the DCNR has the authority to restrict development in that portion of the watershed. At issue is whether DCNR will exercise its authority and limit Andarko Petroleum from drilling in the area. See HERE for more background information and how you can help.

A backpacking trip is planned for the Minister Creek area of the Allegheny NF. Part of the time will be spent maintaining the North Country National Scenic Trail that passes through the area.

Sponsored by the Student Conservation Association and the North Country Trail Association. For more information contact Matt Peters at ( mattnedludd at gmail dot com )

This spring our Public Lands Action Team will conduct walkabouts at three local state parks to examine the possible impact of nearby shale gas drilling. The first walkabout will be at Moraine State Park on Sunday, April 7, leaving the Sierra Club parking lot in Oakland at 10 am. A walkabout at the second “priority” state park – Raccoon – is planned for June, with Ohiopyle SP in mind for July. For more information, contact Matt Peters at ( mattnedludd at gmail dot com ).

The Allegheny Group’s Huplits Wildlife Grants Committee is seeking grant proposals to help protect animal wildlife and wildlife habitat in Pennsylvania. Approximately $45,000 will be available for the 2013 Huplits Wildlife Grants program. A total of four grants were awarded in last year’s competition. (more…)

ACTION. Urge DCNR Secretary Allan (rjallan@pa.gov) to open a State Forest drilling plan to public comment. (See talking points.)

You may have never heard of Loyalsock State Forest. It lies at the heart of the Endless Mountain region in Sullivan County, and has become another focal point in protection from shale gas drilling. As in most of the State Forests, the state owns the surface rights but not the mining rights. In the case of Loyalsock SF, the company Andarko is negotiating with the Dept. of Conservation and Natural Resources to drill for shale gas in an area of great ecological and recreational significance known as the “Clarence Moore lands”. With special conditions set out in the mineral rights covenant, State-wide organizations called on DCNR Secretary Allan to sponsor public comment and a hearing into Anadarko’s development plans.

In clear proof that elections count, President Obama has nominated REI outdoor equipment CEO Sally Jewell for Secretary of the Interior. Some may point to Jewell’s first job as an engineer with the Mobil oil company as a detriment, but as described in the New York Times, Sally Jewell clearly appreciates the value of wild places. (more…)

Allegheny County and the Allegheny County Parks Foundation will host two public input meetings to discuss improvement projects in North Park and South Park. Residents are encouraged to attend the meetings to learn about the projects and to provide feedback and comments.

7:00 pm, Wednesday, January 23
Rose Barn, Pearce Mill Road, North Park

7:00 pm, Wednesday, January 30
South Park Home Economics Buildings, Buffalo Drive, South Park

(more…)

Dept. of Interior map.

In a move that will protect nearly 11 million acres of important wildlife habitat, on Dec. 19 the Department of Interior today released the Final Environmental Impact Statement for its plan to manage the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska in the western Arctic. The Reserve is the country’s largest and wildest piece of public land and includes many areas vital for wildlife and Native communities. Under the administration’s management plan, oil and gas leasing on 11.8 million acres of the Reserve will be balanced with conservation of important wildlife areas. (more…)

Steller sea lions. Photo: NOAA

On Dec 20, the day after announcing protection of wildlife in Alaska, the White House announced that President Obama would add nearly 3,000 square miles to the National Marine Sanctuary system, almost tripling the protected area off the California coast. This latest designation — covering the Gulf of the Farallones and Cordell Bank along the Sonoma and Mendocino coasts north of San Francisco — will protect this biologically rich area from offshore oil and gas drilling and allow for public uses, such as fishing. The Sierra Club has been working to protect this area for many years. Public comments on the expansion can be submitted HERE.

View of the Blanca Massif in NM. Photo: US Fish & Wildlife Service

At a time when so much open land across the nation is being occupied for industrial purposes such as gas drilling, it refreshing to learn of a significant saving of open space. This year rancher Louis Bacon has donated to the US Fish and Wildlife Service conservation easements of 265-square miles of land in the Sangre de Cristo mountains of New Mexico. This donation is likely to advance the creation of a 390-square-mile federal Sangre de Cristo Conservation Area that will protect the San Luis valley from development.

Photo: Allegheny Defense Project

One hundred miles north of Pittsburgh the Allegheny National Forest, one of the natural gems of our whole region, is severely threatened by fracking for oil and gas. In September a U.S. District Judge ruled that the U.S. Forest Service has limited authority to regulate oil and gas drilling in the Allegheny NF. As part of a long legal battle, the Allegheny Defense Project and the Sierra Club have begun to appeal that decision. The groups argue that the decision is flawed because it ignores the history of why Pennsylvania’s only national forest was created and it will lead to further degradation of the forest during the Marcellus Shale gas boom.

It may have been YOUR phone call or Email that made the difference, but last Monday Gov. Corbett told reporters that “State officials are not considering leasing any additional acres of state forestland or parks for gas drilling.” The Governor went further in reaffirming his administration’s decision not to remove the moratorium on additional drilling in state forests, a moratorium put in place by Gov. Rendell in 2010.

NOTE: See letter from DCNR Secretary Allan in the Oct. 21 Post-Gazette.

Photo: PA Bureau of State Parks

ACTION: ACTION: Let Gov. Corbett and your state legislators know how you feel about John Norbeck’s forced resignation.

In a move that worries conservationists concerned about the integrity of our state parks, the departure of John Norbeck as the parks Director is a disappointment. It is reported that Norbeck was actually ousted by the Corbett administration, in part because of Norbeck’s belief that leasing park lands for shale gas drilling was not desirable. A statement by the Sierra Club’s Pennsylvania Chapter director Jeff Schmidt follows: (more…)