Dear Mr. McCallum,
I can well understand why you would hate to see a nature reserve
despoiled by drilling, but perhaps there is an important scientific
opportunity here to affect decisions about drilling in the whole Marcellus
Shales region and beyond. Has the research conducted at the Powdermill
Nature Preserve produced enough data to serve as a baseline of various
ecological metrics that would allow an objective and quantitative assessment
of the impacts of drilling? If it seems like the pro-drilling forces are
going to steam-roller the issue to have their way, perhaps you could at
least hold out for concessions, such as funding for future research to
gather the data needed for comparison with existing baseline data, or even
to get more baseline data before drilling begins.
The resulting information would be very important for other
communities confronted with the issue of whether to accept or fight drilling
plans, and could provide evidence to support their decisions. This would be
at least as valuable a contribution to society as just looking at how
gradual reforestation affects ecological metrics.
Martin M. Meiss
2010/8/26 malcolm McCallum <[email protected]>
> I have recently become aware that Carnegie Museum trustees are currently
> considering allowing gas wells in the Powdermill Nature Preserve.
>
> (article:
> http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/westmoreland/s_696394.html
> )
>
> For those of you who are unfamiliar with PNR, here is a link:
>
> http://www.carnegiemnh.org/powdermill/
>
> This reserve in Pennsylvania has been the focus of many different kinds of
> field/wildlife ecology research. There has been extensive marking of
> wildlife on the grounds. Birds have been marked since 1961, and
> they have in excess of 100,000 marked at last report.
>
> I cannot over-emphasize the travesty that this decision would bring.
>
> It would be good for people to voice their disenchantment with this
> possible decision.
>
> Notice, they HAVE NOT MADE THIS DECISION YET, BUT THEY ARE CONSIDERING
> IT SERIOUSLY.
>
> I strongly encourage people to forward letters and notes voicing your
> disenchantment
> with the proposed policy change.
>
> As the reserve does not currently have a director, you should forward
> letters or
> emails to:
>
> David M. Hillenbrand, President and CEO,
> Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh
> 4400 Forbes Avenue
> Pittsburgh, PA 15213
> [email protected]
>
>
> Below is exerpted from Meshaka, WE, J.N. Huff, and R.C. Leberman.
> 2008. Amphibians and Reptiles of Powdermill
> Nature Reserve in Western Pennsylvania. Journal of Kansas Herpetology
> 25:12-18 (available at:
> http://www.cnah.org/pdf_files/942.pdf).
>
>
> Powdermill Nature reserve (PNR) is an 890.3 ha field station located in the
> the Laurel Ridge of the Allegheny Mountains in w...@estmoreland County
> of western Pennsylvania. PNR was founded in 1956 by Dr. M. Graham
> Netting, herpetologist
> and Director of the Carnegie Museum of Natural History, Pittsburgh. The
> initial gift of 469.4 ha (1160 a) that year brought Netting's dream of
> a proteccted long-term
> research field station into reality. The reserve now encompasses
> 890.3 ha of mixed
> forests, fields, ponds, and streams located in the Ligonier Valley
> southeast of Pittsburgh.
> Netting's goal in establishing
> the Reserve was to provide Museum scientists and researchers from
> other institutions
> a permanent area for long-term studies of ecosystems and the flora and
> fauna comprising
> them. In addition to being a wild area for natural history research
> the reserve was to
> provide a venue for natural history eduction.
> In 1961, PNR initiated what is now one of the longest coninuous
> runnning bird banding programs
> in the country. Herpetologically, a demographic study of the Wood
> Turtle and Eastern
> Box Turtle has been in progress since 1960. The single greatest
> change to the landscape of
> PNR since its founding has been a gradual succession from farmland to
> mixed deciduous forest.
>
>
>
> --
> Malcolm L. McCallum
> Managing Editor,
> Herpetological Conservation and Biology
> "Peer pressure is designed to contain anyone with a sense of drive" -
> Allan Nation
>
> 1880's: "There's lots of good fish in the sea" W.S. Gilbert
> 1990's: Many fish stocks depleted due to overfishing, habitat loss,
> and pollution.
> 2000: Marine reserves, ecosystem restoration, and pollution reduction
> MAY help restore populations.
> 2022: Soylent Green is People!
>
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