Speak out on why the Loyalsock matters

The Clarence Moore lands of the Loyalsock State Forest are the last unfragmented forest lands in Lycoming County. Since 2012, you've been hearing from us at PennFuture warn about the dangers to this area and the work of the Save the Loyalsock Coalition to protect them. The coalition is comprised of statewide and local conservation, recreation, fishing and outdoors organizations. Representing over 100,000 citizens, the coalition has engaged the broader public as well as the previous administration in response to the threat of drilling in this pristine 25,000 acre treasure.

We now have an opportunity to engage Gov. Tom Wolf and his administration. Please add your voice by signing this petition saying "no" to gas drilling, which would impact exceptional value headwater streams, rare and threatened wildlife species, and the Old Loggers Path - one of Pennsylvania's finest hiking trails. Gov. Wolf has already worked to protect other state lands, beginning with Executive Order 2015-03 to prohibit new leases for gas development in our state parks and forests. Earlier this summer, the coalition sent a letter to Gov. Wolf asking him to use his power to protect the Clarence Moore tract, to which the previous order does not apply. Our letter was signed by 14 of Pennsylvania's conservation and citizens' organizations. Please join us and sign (and share) the petition today. Visit www.saveloyalsock.org for background, photos, maps, and to sign up to receive more information on next steps you can take.

Kate Gibbons is Northeastern Pennsylvania outreach coordinator for PennFuture and is based in Wilkes-Barre.

Conservation critical

Conserving our nation's public lands, parks and waterways is critical right now, and Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell forcefully made the case for immediate action in her first major policy address as secretary.

"We cannot and will not hold our breath forever," Sec. Jewell noted in her remarks on the increasing need for action following the forced government shutdown. The 16-day shutdown last month only worsened the financial situation for America's national parks and wildlife refuges, already hard-hit by sequestration cuts. Additionally, the last Congress was the first since World War II not to designate even one new national park, wilderness, or monument.

Here in Pennsylvania, many of our public lands, including those managed by the Commonwealth, are also under stress. You've followed our ongoing legal and organizing work on the Loyalsock State Forest and the fight for a robust public process regarding any gas drilling planned for this special forest and its clear headwater streams. We're also part of a six-state coalition working to safeguard the nation's largest estuary -- the Chesapeake Bay -- by making our thousands of miles of Pennsylvania streams and rivers cleaner for all of us in the public who use and enjoy them. Yet the challenges are great, as we have known for a long time.

Laurel Run State Park

President Theodore Roosevelt was responsible for the conservation of at least 230 million acres of land -- places that today, a century on, are ingrained as a part of who we are. One hundred and five years ago, Roosevelt was prescient as he opened a gathering of conservationists with these words:

"We have become great because of the lavish use of our resources. But the time has come to inquire seriously what will happen when our forests are gone, when the coal, the iron, the oil, and the gas are exhausted, when the soils have still further impoverished and washed into the streams, polluting the rivers, denuding the fields and obstructing navigation."

Water, water everywhere -- and, now, here

As our work on water issues around the state, including our effort as state lead for the Choose Clean Water Coalition, continues to grow, we've decided to jump into the blogosphere with this newest PennFuture blog. As the name says, it all flows downstream -- and what comes around does indeed go around in the cycle of water.

Earlier this summer, we worked on a key bill enacted into law in Pennsylvania which will make it easier for local governments to manage stormwater. Stormwater problems cause flooding and road, bridge, and sewer damage, and are an enormous source of pollution to our rivers and streams and, ultimately, to the grand Chesapeake Bay, which is the nation's largest estuary.

In California right now, the Rim Fire (187,000 acres as of today) has been causing great concern for the threat it could pose to San Francisco's drinking water. Climate change is only going to increase these dangers. Conversely, citizens across the Commonwealth are concerned about the impacts from shale gas on Pennsylvania's water for drinking as well as recreation throughout Penn's Woods. That's one reason we've been working as part of a statewide coalition keen to prevent possible drilling in the Loyalsock State Forest. Last week, 12,000 signatures were presented to Gov. Corbett's staff on this issue and you can still add your voice to protect our forests and waters. (Speaking of which, The Department of Forests and Waters was the former and expressive name of the Pennsylvania state agency created in 1923 by Governor Pinchot. Today, it's part of the larger Department of Conservation and Natural Resources.)

There's a lot happening here in our state known for our forests and its waters. Our aim is to bring you the latest and the little-known challenges and good things happening from the grassroots up.