By David Kinney and Kurt Fesenmyer, Trout Unlimited
Join Trout Unlimited for a webinar on November 16 from Noon to 1:00 p.m. to hear the results of its conservation planning/GIS analysis of the ecological impacts of Delaware River Basin pipelines and to see how its new interactive map can be put to effective use. Click Here to register for this free event.
Background
With the build-out of natural gas transmission lines well underway in the Marcellus shale region, Trout Unlimited (TU) has conducted a landscape-scale analysis to identify high-value natural resources that should be accounted for during the planning and siting of major pipelines in Delaware River Basin states.
The result is an interactive web map allowing users to visualize areas where important ecological values overlap, and where impacts from the construction of natural gas pipelines-- erosion and sedimentation, forest fragmentation, disconnected fish and wildlife habitat-- could put critical natural resources at risk.
Working with a focus group representing industry, state and federal government agencies, and conservation partners, TU used GIS datasets to identify locations that are critical to protecting coldwater fisheries, high quality streams, biodiversity habitat, and intact lands.
By using a scoring scheme that assigned locations 0 to 8 points, we could map ecological priority areas in Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, and Delaware.
In the final analysis, 2.1 percent of the Delaware River watershed received the highest cumulative ecological impact scores.
Notable locations included Hickory Run State Park and the Lehigh Gorge in northeastern Pennsylvania, Stokes State Forest in New Jersey, and the Upper Delaware River. These are special places, and the report underscores that their protection should be taken into consideration as major new pipelines are planned and reviewed.
TU is now working to incorporate this new dataset into agency and industry planning platforms, such as Pennsylvania’s Conservation Explorer and New Jersey’s Conservation Blueprint.
Pipeline siting decisions are critically important: Studies show that pipeline infrastructure accounts for about half of the spatial footprint of natural gas development.
Building natural gas lines requires cutting new pathways through intact forests and crossing hundreds of waterways; one study looked at eight proposed pipelines in the Delaware River Basin and found that if they were built, they would affect nearly 3,000 acres of land and cross 175 perennial streams, including many wild trout waters.
This construction can have significant short- and long-term impacts. Sedimentation can degrade water quality if not properly controlled.
Erosion controls can fail in storms. Removal of streamside cover can raise water temperatures. Pipelines fragment the large, intact patches required by many rare and protected wildlife species.
TU hopes this new analysis and web map can be used by industry very early in the planning process-- even before a project is publicly announced-- as a guide for avoiding and minimizing ecological impacts.
For agencies and conservation professionals, meanwhile, the map is a tool that can support science-based reviews of proposed pipeline routes.
We understand that environmental implications are only one factor in pipeline planning. Industry officials must consider constructability and land ownership.
Local community impacts, presence of existing infrastructure, and the location of historical and archaeological sites also play a significant role.
This map, then, is a first-cut analysis of ecological considerations, and we encourage its use alongside resources that document other types of potential pipeline impacts.
For more information, visit the Delaware River Watershed Interactive Map webpage and information on other related Shale gas initiatives, visit Trout Unlimited’s Eastern Shale Gas Development Project webpage.
David Kinney, based outside Philadelphia, and is Trout Unlimited’s Eastern Policy Director and can be contacted by sending email to: David.Kinney@tu.org or by calling 856-857-9669.
Kurt Fesenmyer is Trout Unlimited’s GIS/Conservation Planning Director and is based in Boise, Idaho and can be contacted by calling 208-949-0202.
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