Data collection or research completed

Abstract: As members of the urban and suburban population continue to migrate to rural areas in search of a beautiful landscape and quiet way of life, conflict over the meaning of and ownership over the landscape emerges. New and previously established populations tend to have dramatically different conceptions of landscape and environment, leading to struggles in the rural economy and local environmental policy. This research focuses on Wayne County, Pennsylvania and uses a current and polarizing issue, hydraulic fracturing for natural gas, to illuminate these tensions.

This research identifies and analyzes the breadth and depth of the network of non-profit environmental organizations, conservation-oriented sportsmen groups, county conservation districts and state parks that advocate Marcellus Shale drilling issues within northeastern and southwestern Pennsylvania where drilling occurs. The purpose of this study is to identify where resources are being mobilized and where environmental activities that focus on Marcellus Shale issues are underrepresented in the state.