WIND AND NAT GAS ON THE LAND

Nature Conservancy Study Reveals Energy Development Impacts
November 15, 2010 (The Nature Conservancy)

"Energy development in Pennsylvania over the next 20 years could transform the Commonwealth’s iconic forests and impact several hundred thousand acres of key habitat for songbirds, salamanders and trout, according to a new study…With [Pennsylvania Energy Impacts Assessment] energy developers, government agencies, and conservation groups will now have information about where development is most likely to pose risks to Pennsylvania’s most important natural areas – and be able to take steps to avoid them.

"About 3,500 acres of forest have been cleared and an estimated 8,500 additional acres of habitat degraded because of the energy development that has spread through Pennsylvania’s forests in recent years…Without action to improve planning for energy development, many times that amount could be lost…"

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"The study considers the types of energy development most likely to alter Pennsylvania’s landscape – natural gas from the Marcellus shale formation, wind energy, energy from wood biomass and electric and gas transmission – and uses innovative GIS mapping techniques to analyze the impacts of existing development and to model the likely location and intensity of future development. The report then documents the possible impacts on areas of high conservation value…

"About 1,800 Marcellus natural gas wells have already been drilled in Pennsylvania, and as many as 60,000 more could be developed by 2030 if development trends continue…By the end of this year, 500 wind turbines will be generating energy on Pennsylvania’s Allegheny Front and Appalachian ridges, and between 750 and 2,900 more could be built by 2030, depending on the state’s renewable energy goals…"

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"Because of the scale of Marcellus development, about 40 percent of the state’s largest and most ecologically valuable forest areas in Pennsylvania could see serious impacts from energy development…[including] degradation of Pennsylvania breeding habitat for vulnerable species such as northern goshawk, wood thrush and Northern flying squirrel, as well as development within most of the watersheds of the state’s remaining healthy brook trout streams…Wind energy development will not have the extensive footprint associated with the Marcellus fields, but in certain local situations, wind development may impact critical habitats.

"For every acre of development in Pennsylvania’s forests, several additional acres of habitat for plants and animals are lost to the noise, light, invasive species and other ecological changes that can accompany remote developments. Forests can be fragmented by roads, gas well pads and turbines, creating more of the forest edges where these impacts occur…The state’s multi-million-dollar outdoor recreation and timber industries are also dependent on the health of these forests, while impacts to headwater streams as a result of development could extend many miles downstream…"