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Written by Elizabeth Martin
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Thursday, 16 September 2010 10:56 |
There is an old saying, “If it seems too good to be true, it probably is.” Whether a proverb or an adage, acting on the side of caution was not an option for the countless landowners who have partaken in the Marcellus Shale feeding frenzy that has hit Northeastern Pennsylvania. But, considering the present condition of our less-than-stable economy, could we really blame them? Standing apart from those who have signed gas leases, there are many who have not done so. And, although the thought of a nice fat check had its appeal, they instead heeded that yellow light long enough to take a closer look. A few of those who resisted the temptation shared their experiences with IndependentNEPA.
 Denise Dennis, Susquehanna County
Prince and Judith Perkins and their children arrived in Susquehanna County from Connecticut in 1793. At that time, Susquehanna County was still part of Luzerne County and George Washington was the new nation’s first president.
“Because my ancestors were free African Americans who came to Pennsylvania from Connecticut with the first wave of settlement into the region, and because Revolutionary and Civil War veterans are buried in the family cemetery on the farm, the site has been nominated and designated eligible for the National Register of Historic Places and placed on the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s list of the most significant African American historical sites in the northeast United States,” said Denise Dennis.
Since 2001, Dennis has been working to preserve the history of the 153-acre site and to conserve its natural resources. Like most of the neighboring landowners, she has received countless offers from gas companies to drill on the farm. The family has turned down the offers, “which to my mind sounded too good to be true.” Instead, from the beginning, Dennis sought to learn as much as she could about natural gas drilling.
“I would like to see a moratorium on natural gas drilling on the Marcellus Shale and support S.B. 1447,” she said. “I would like the industry to go back to the drawing board until they develop the technology to extract gas in a way that is safe, that does not disfigure the landscape, does not destroy a way of life, and does not contaminate water, air and land.
“I am for progress--progress that is safe. I hope our state legislature doesn’t wait until we reach a point where we have to import water as we now import oil. We can live without gas, but human beings cannot live without safe water to drink,” she concluded.
John Nowak, Luzerne County
John Nowak and his family reside in Lake Township, on prime hunting land first purchased in the 1940s by his uncles. The original 60-acre parcel became the setting for a small, two-room hunting cabin. Within a few years, Nowak’s father purchased the land and moved his family into an old farmhouse on the property.
In subsequent years, Nowak’s family relocated to West Nanticoke, selling 32 acres with the farmhouse. On the remaining 27.8 acres, his father and some friends built another cabin at the base of North Mountain in the 1950s, with no power, phone, or water.
When Nowak’s parents separated in the late 1960s, his father moved into the cabin, where he remained for the last 25 years of his life. Nowak stayed with his father on holidays and summer weeks, enjoying the simpler way of life.
In the mid 1990s, a local hunting club, with substantial acreage above theirs on the mountain, asked him for permission to purchase a right-of-way on his property.
“I turned them down at least three times, even though they sent me certified checks for higher and higher amounts of money each time,” he explained. “The last amount, offered in 1997, was $30,000 dollars. I still refused because once our privacy was lost it would be lost forever.”
Within three days of his refusal, Nowak’s father’s cabin burned to the ground. One week later, the same man approached him, once again looking for access to his property, and willing to offer even more money.
“I told him I wouldn’t rent him the dirt on my shoes,” he said. “As I walked away, he told me I was foolish for not cooperating. I may not have a cabin, but I still have my privacy. Ironically, the hunting club found another landowner who took the money and they made a mess of his place, cutting the new road like a highway.”
In 2009, Nowak received offers from Chesapeake Energy to lease his land for natural gas drilling. His neighbor had already leased with EnCana, and he was intrigued by what he was told- big money, no risk, and he wouldn’t even know they were there.
“To me, this seemed too good to be true and so I started researching about drilling and all its processes,” he explained. “I found things that were horrible and would ruin the privacy and usability of my land. I knew in an instant that something wasn’t right.”
Nowak uncovered more detrimental facts regarding the irreversible damage that gas drilling causes. He was more determined than ever to never sign a lease.
His neighbor urged him to attend an “informal meeting” in the fall of 2009, with a landman from Chesapeake Energy.
“Someone from the crowd asked what would happen if a person didn’t want to sign, but all the others around him did. The landman said, with a gleam in his eye and a cocky grin, ‘If we need that property, we’ll get it, we always do.’ I was unemployed at the time, but this was a matter of principle, not capital.”
“Money truly cannot buy happiness–– the croaking frogs in the pond we camp next to, the sound of crickets, and deer grazing nearby in the morning while we perk coffee on the fire. That’s what brings happiness to me, my son, and my wife. If I were to put a price on our land through a gas drilling lease, it would be like putting a price on my family. We are not for sale.”
Doug Ayers, Wyoming County
Outside the village of Noxen, Wyoming County, there sits a charming old farm that has been in Doug Ayers’s family since 1926. Prior to three generations of ownership, the area veterinarian pointed out that the 130-acre parcel was an active dairy farm in the 1800s.
“It was a working farm, with dairy and beef cattle, and there were sheep, as many as 100 ewes at one time,” he said.
Ayers presently maintains a small herd of cows on his farm for The Lands at Hillside Farms.
As it has been in the Ayers family for more than 80 years, he made the decision to preserve the farm. As one of the founders of the North Branch Land Trust, Ayers realizes the importance of conservation easements and their value to future generations. Unfortunately, as he pointed out, preservation and conservation easements do not protect land from being drilled underneath, but the surface cannot be disturbed.
Ayers recalled a visit to his office by a gas company landman a couple of years ago, following the signing of gas leases by nearly all of his neighbors.
“My administrator went out to see who it was, and the guy explained that he wanted to speak with me about signing a lease for my farm,” he explained. “My administrator, who is also my sister, explained that she didn’t think it was worth his time–– that I wouldn’t sign. The response was, ‘Well, when he sees how much we have to offer he won’t refuse.’ My sister said, ‘You do not know my brother.’ The man left, saying that he would be back, but he never returned.”
Ayers has since received numerous letters from the leaders of a large group of neighboring landowners, inviting him to sign with them. Bothered by the fact that he would not do so, they inquired as to why he had made such a decision.
“As long as there is any risk in my doing that to property that has been entrusted to me by my father and grandfather, and as long as there is a possibility that I might injure another person downstream by signing, I could never do that. The money is simply not worth it,” Ayers stated.
Also, as president of The Lands at Hillside Farms (TLHF), in Trucksville, Ayers made a similar decision.
“The mission of TLHF is to teach sustainable ways of life, meaning that we would like everyone to consider one’s actions and do NOTHING that might deprive citizens living 500 years from now of the abundant resources and opportunities we have now,” he said. “We cannot partake in the gas ‘experiment’ going on in our area because it has huge potential to damage the land, water, and long-term economic viability of our region. Above all else, if we could convince people to ‘love thy neighbor’ and ‘do unto others’, then this issue would look much different today–– nobody would have signed leases until it was proven to be absolutely safe!” |
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