Small Pa. Land Trust Wrestles With Natural-Gas Dilemma

A small northeastern Pennsylvania charity is wrestling with whether to allow natural-gas drilling on a wildlife sanctuary it owns, a move that could earn the organization millions of dollars, reports SolveClimate News, a Web site that covers energy and climate issues.

The North Branch Land Trust’s board is split over whether to grant energy firms access to the 667-acre Howland Preserve, which geologists believe sits atop a rich gas field. Natural gas is widely viewed as a cleaner-burning alternative to coal and oil, but environmentalists are concerned over the impact of extracting it through a combination of drilling and hydraulics.

Supporters of the deal say the windfall would allow the trust–which now maintains about 11,000 acres and has an annual budget of $300,000–to expand its holdings significantly and prevent development of open land.

Opponents contend doing so would be ethically antithetical to the charity’s mission and repel donors.

Paul Lumia, the charity’s executive director, said that for now the trust is taking a wait-and-see stance.

“We have a reputation to uphold. We don’t want to be perceived as participating in something that’s not too environmentally friendly,” he said.