In late spring Public Herald contributing artists set out at dusk with cameras in hand to document fracking in Pennsylvania’s Tiadaghton State Forest, where activity has recently increased after Governor Tom Corbett opened up 25,000 acres of new leasing and development on public lands (see full photo album). Corbett’s decision sparked a legal battle that’s been well reported in a series by Donald Gilliland at PennLive. 130,000 acres of State Forest were originally opened to oil and gas leasing by Gov. Rendell, but Rendell placed a moratorium on further leasing before leaving office. In 2009 DCNR officials released a report that any additional development in State Forests would cause permanent harm to those ecosystems.
Land cleared for fracking, and lights fill the sky alongside Old Schoolhouse road in Pennsylvania’s Tiadaghton State Forest. photo: jbpribanicPublic Herald contributing artist John Nicholson captures audio of an active drill rig on state forest land. photo: Kyle PattisonPlume rises as fracking is started on a natural gas well pad in Pennsylvania’s Tiadaghton State Forest. photo: jbpribanicA truck hooks up to an impoundment pond in Tiadaghton State Forest to extract recycled water for fracking nearby. photo: jbpribanicA fracking wastewater impoundment in Pennsylvania’s Tiadaghton State Forest fenced off and guarded with cameras, shows signs of overflow or spills at entrance. photo: jbpribanicAn active natural gas drill rig at sunset in Tiadaghton State Forest, Pennsylvania. photo: Kyle PattisonPhotographer Kyle Pattison documents natural gas development as fracking gets underway in Tiadaghton State Forest, Pennsylvania. photo: jbpribanicInfrastructure for fracking in Tiadaghton State Forest, Pennsylvania. photo: Kyle PattisonEarth is moved back and forth throughout the night to develop infrastructure for fracking on State Forest land in Pennsylvania. photo: jbpribanicWhere a forest once stood X marks the spot on an empty well pad in Tiadaghton State Forest, Pennsylvania. photo: jbpribanicA natural gas well pad is built a long a flood plain next to Little Pine Creek in Pine Twp. PA near State Forest land. photo: jbpribanicAudio from a drill rig on a still night in Tiadaghton State Forest can be heard for more than 300 yards away. photo: jbpribanic
About Joshua B. Pribanic
Joshua Pribanic is Editor-in-Chief for publicherald.org, an investigative reporter, director, photographer, and permaculturalist. His debut documentary, Triple Divide, investigates how the impacts of fracking are being handled by the state and industry. Influences include Ida Tarbell, Upton Sinclair, and ProPublica’s Editor Paul Steiger. Follow on twitter: @jbpribanic
