Sportsmen, Hunting, Fishing, & Fracking

Fracking spells disaster for hunting and fishing because of significant negative impacts to the health and prosperity of native game species and habitats. Where it has taken place, fracking has a long track record of contaminating water, air, and ecosystems. Sportsmen and conservation organizations have witnessed native game populations decline hand in hand with the vitality of local hunting and fishing communities and businesses. New York is home to some of the best hunting and fishing in the country, and these pursuits are important to many communities for sustenance, age-old traditions, and billions of dollars in revenue for local businesses, states, and conservation efforts. Fracking threatens hunting and fishing in New York State. Fracking mixes hundreds of deadly chemicals with enormous amounts of water, and has a track record of toxic spills, blowouts, and surface water contamination. Many of the fracking chemicals - including benzene, toluene, mercury, led, diesel, and radioactive chemicals - pose a significant threat to waterways. (1, 2) Blowouts and spills have affected some of our best trout streams. On April 19, 2011, for example, in the LeRoy Township of Bradford County, PA, a Chesapeake Energy Corporation fracking site suffered a massive blowout that leaked tens of thousands of gallons of fracking fluid into farms and the Towanda Creek. Towanda Creek is a trout stream and tributary of the Susquehanna River, which hosts sensitive fish populations like the American Shad and Striped Bass. (3, 4) The New York Times has reported that both industry and EPA confidential studies indicate that fracking materials and waste cannot be fully diluted in rivers and other waterways." Maryland Attorney General Gansley has noted that radioactivity levels in Pennsylvania fracking wastewater have sometimes been thousands of times above the maximum allowed by the federal standard for drinking water. (3, 5) The popular Sportsman's magazine Field & Stream has warned that fracking threatens trout populations in regions where fracking is present, noting that there could be "major damage to world-class trout water, from small mountain streams to the Delaware river." (6) The same fracking wastewater that threatens fish populations also threatens land animals, which seek it out because of the high salt content. The wastewater is deadly, as seen when cows exposed to it have gotten sick and died. (7, 8, 12) Fracking increases industrial activity and fragments land, hurting game populations such as deer. In Colorado and Wyoming where gas drilling is thriving, mule deer populations have declined by two-thirds. Similarly, the number of mule deer harvested has plummeted. In 1989, 839 mule deer were harvested, compared to just 48 in 2008. (9) Steve Torbit, the recent National Wildlife Federation executive director, has stated that drilling development is negatively impacting conservation efforts and funding, and further noting that, The little towns get hurt too. There arent as many hunters there to buy gas, to buy groceries, to stay in hotels and do all those things that hunters do to help the economies of these little towns. (10) In Pennsylvania, drilling activity is disrupting traditional hunting areas on both public and private lands due to increased truck traffic, well pad clearings, and creation of new access roads. (11)

References: 1. Lustgarten, Abrahm. Buried Secrets: Is natural gas drilling endangering U.S. water supplies? ProPublica. November 13, 2008. 2. Taylor, Phil. Oil and Gas: BLM chief says fracking is safe but wants disclosure, blowout regs. Land Letter. Vol. 10, No. 9. March 10, 2011. 3. Maryland Attorney General Douglas F. Gansley. 2 May 2011. "Attorney General Gansler Notifies Chesapeake Energy of the State's Intent to Sue for Endangering the Health of Citizens and the Environment." Baltimore, MD. <http://www.oag.state.md.us/Press/2011/050211.html> 4. Hrin, Eric. 20 April 2011. "Fracking fluid spilled into creek at gas well incident near LeRoy." Towanda, PA. The Daily Review. http://thedailyreview.com/fracking-fluid-spilled-into-creek-at-gas-well-incident-near-leroy1.1135252 5. Urbina, Ian. 26 February 2011. "Regulation Lax as Gas Wells Tainted Water Hits Rivers." New York Times: Drilling Down. <http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/27/us/27gas.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=Regulation%20Lax%20as%20Gas%20W ells%20Tainted%20Water%20Hits%20Rivers&st=cse> 6. Licata, Anthony. 24 July 2009. "Natural Gas Drilling Threatens Trout in Pennsylvania (and Other Appalachian States)." Field & Stream. http://www.fieldandstream.com/articles/fishing/trout-fishing/where-fishtrout/2009/07/natural-gas-extraction-threatens-appalachian 7. Kusnetz, Nicholas. 4 February 2011. "Anatomy of a Gas Well: What Happened When a Well Was Drilled in a National Forest." ProPublica. http://www.propublica.org/article/anatomy-of-a-gas-well-what-happened-whena-well-was-drilled-in-a-national-f 8. Duncan, Byard. 2010. "Fracking With Food: How the Natural Gas Industry Poisons Cows and Crops." AlterNet. http://www.alternet.org/food/147634/fracking_with_food%3A_how_the_natural_gas_industry_poisons_cows_ and_crops/?page=3 9. Ellenberger, John H and A. Eugene Byrne. January 2011. "Pupulation Status and Trends of Big Game and Greater Sage-Grous Along the Colorado/Wyoming State Line." National Wildlife Federation. http://www.ourpubliclands.org/files/upload/Executive%20Summaryl.pdf 10. Hooper, Troy. 3 August 2011. "Oil and gas boom a bust for hunters along Colorado-Wyoming border." The Colorado Independent. http://coloradoindependent.com/95335/oil-and-gas-boom-a-bust-for-hunters-alongcolorado-wyoming-border 11. Venesky, Tom. 28 February 2011. "Expert: Amount of Shale activity may be shocking: Hunting site access may be restricted in areas near active gas drilling operations." The Times Leader. http://www.timesleader.com/sports/outdoors/Expert__Amount_of_Shale_activity_may_be_shocking_11-212010.html# 12. Hackett, Bob. 14 March, 2012. "Fracking Fluid Harmful to Animal Health." Cornell Daily Sun. <http://cornellsun.com/section/science/content/2012/03/14/prof-fracking-fluid-harmful-animal-health>