Save the Loyalsock

Deep in the Endless Mountains of Pennsylvania lies the Loyalsock State Forest, a land of verdant woodlands, crystalline streams, breath-taking vistas — a respite for people and wildlife. It is wilderness under siege.

Deep below the tranquility is the Marcellus Shale formation, where natural gas created over millions of years is trapped in tiny cracks within the rock. Some of the forest has already been leased for shale gas extraction using the controversial process known as hydraulic fracturing, or fracking.

A particularly fragile area, the 25,000-acre Clarence Moore Tract -- home to cascading Rock Run and the beloved Old Loggers Path -- is threatened by large-scale gas development. Imagine clearcuts, impoundments, bright lights, big noise. Envision compressor stations, gaping pipelines, traffic jams, spills, leaks, accidents, and dirty emissions. Get the picture? Drilling has no business here.