Print PageSince 2006, development of oil and gas reserves beneath forests in the northeast, especially those sitting above deep shale gas reserves such as the Marcellus and Utica plays, has drawn economic, ecological, and political attention. Experimental forests of the US Forest Service Northern Research Station, including the Fernow (in WV) and the Kane (in PA) have experienced well development of privately owned subsurface resources. Scientists at the Northern Research Station have launched a coordinated research and science delivery program designed to understand the cumulative ecological and economic impacts on surface resources associated with oil and gas development, empowering land managers, policy makers, and regulators to manage these impacts with best available science.
To plan an effective program, we consulted with the staffs of the Allegheny and Monongahela National Forests, the Pennsylvania DCNR Bureau of Forestry, researchers at the Department of Energy, the Pinchot Institute, the Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia, and the US Geologic Survey.
Results/Conclusions
As a result of these consultations, we identified the niche best filled by Forest Service R&D and our collaborators among the needs for additional research on oil and gas development. These program elements are:
- Landscape-scale cumulative analysis and modeling of direct and indirect effects of potential and realized oil and gas development patterns
- Analysis and modeling of the cumulative effects of potential and realized gas and oil development on water quality and quantity
- Site-specific studies of direct and indirect effects on affected terrestrial and aquatic forest communities, providing data to the landscape scale analyses
- Enhanced communication, coordination, and science delivery with other agencies and organizations conducting related research and management of gas & oil development.
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