The Effects of Marcellus Shale Natural Gas Development on Hunting, Fishing, and Other Recreational Activities throughout Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania, along with portions of West Virginia, Virginia, Maryland, New York, and Ohio, set atop Marcellus Shale. The effects of Marcellus Shale natural gas drilling on hunting, fishing, and other recreational activities across Pennsylvania are currently unknown. Biological, recreational, and economical issues associated with the development of natural gas, along with the existing environmental guidelines for oil and gas activitiy on state forest lands from Pennsylvania’s Department of Conservation and Natural Resources are currently being researched. An argument is made for the need to shift away from the current use of the Market Paradigm where cost-benefit analysis is used giving natural resources a monetary value and being traded as a commodity to one where the environment is recognized as an entire ecosystem with instrumental value essential to basic human wellbeing. This policy recommendation is important to states in the early stages of natural gas development, such as Ohio and New York.