Hikers Asked to Track Marcellus Activity

Susan Phillips

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Susan Phillips tells stories about the consequences of political decisions on people's every day lives. She has worked as a reporter for WHYY since 2004. Susan's coverage of the 2008 Presidential election resulted in a story on the front page of the New York Times. In 2010 she traveled to Haiti to cover the earthquake. That same year she produced an award-winning series on Pennsylvania's natural gas rush called "The Shale Game." She received a 2013 Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University Journalism Award for her work covering natural gas drilling in Pennsylvania. She has also won several Edward R. Murrow awards for her work with StateImpact. In 2013/14 she spent a year at MIT as a Knight Science Journalism Fellow. She has also been a Metcalf Fellow, an MBL Logan Science Journalism Fellow and reported from Marrakech on the 2016 climate talks as an International Reporting Project Fellow. A graduate of Columbia School of Journalism, she earned her Bachelor's degree in International Relations from George Washington University.

April 23, 2012 | 11:04 AM

A drilling rig in the Tioga State Forest.

The Keystone Trails Association has hooked up with FracTracker.org to collect data on how the Marcellus Shale industry interacts with recreational hikers. The Keystone Trails executive director Curt Ashenfelter says he’s heard lots of anecdotal tales about hikers running into construction sites, sleeping near new compressor stations, and other disturbances to Pennsylvania’s network of trails. So Ashenfelter now wants trail blazers to keep a log of their experiences. The Trail Logbook has been developed by FracTracker. Brook Lenker, FracTracker’s new executive director says much of the anecdotal information has been “alarming.”
“We hope the information gathered helps to clarify the nature of the impacts and leads to sustainable solutions,” says Lenker.
Hikers are encouraged to take photos, and can either use an online form, or mail in a postcard. About 700,000 acres of Pennsylvania’s state owned forest lands are leased to drilling companies. But a moratorium continues on any new leases, which are managed by the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources.