Tioga SF. Photo: DCNR

Pennsylvania has earned sustainable management certification for our publicly owned forests more years than any other state in the nation. This is the conclusion of an independent analysis by the Rain Forest Alliance. The challenge facing the state Dept. Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) is to ensure that shale gas drilling has a minimum effect on the leased 700,000 acres of the 2.2 million acres of the whole system. With 300 wells already on state forest land, the potential is for an eventual total of 6,000 wells, according to former DCNR Secretary John Quigley.