PA Environment Digest

Molly Morrison, President of the Natural Lands Trust, sent the following letter to Southeast members of the Senate and House urging them to renew funding for the Growing Greener Program--

I wanted to take a moment to officially share with you Natural Lands Trust's perspective on the two natural gas drilling bills currently being reconciled by House and Senate leadership.

As you know, we have been advocating for renewal of the state's Growing Greener program for nearly two years. The reason for our concern about the program is simple: the precipitous drop in funding for Growing Greener is having devastating consequences for land conservation in our region.

When Growing Greener was well funded, Natural Lands Trust was able to save an average of more than 3,000 acres of important open space annually. This represents many thousands of acres that are now providing recreation for our region's residents, keeping our air and water clean, and making substantial contributions to our economic sustainability. However, since funding for the program began to decrease, the pace of land conservation has slowed dramatically.

The natural gas drilling bills provide the best opportunity we have seen to revitalize this critical program. That is why we strongly support dedicating 25 percent of the Oil and Gas Lease Fund to Growing Greener as called for in House Bill 1950.

An allocation of 25 percent of the revenue from existing leases on state lands could, in time, restore Growing Greener to levels we have not seen in several years and ensure that vital open space and farmland preservation efforts are again able to have a meaningful impact on our region's environment, economy, and quality and life.

Clearly, these are complex pieces of legislation that include regulatory provisions that are a cause of concern for many of us who care about the long-term impacts of drilling on our environment. Because Natural Lands Trust is a conservation organization, not an advocacy or environmental policy organization, we will leave those issues to our colleagues with greater expertise. We do hope that the process will yield legislation that takes reasonable steps to balance economic development and environmental protection.

In the coming days, I hope that you will continue to advocate for dedicating 25 percent of the Oil and Gas Lease Fund to Growing Greener. It is vital that we take this opportunity to renew Growing Greener and reinvigorate the excellent work it has made possible here and across Pennsylvania for more than a decade.

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