"Environmental groups worry about Pa. budget impact"

News, msnbc.com/phillyburbs.com, September 15, 2009:

Environmental advocates are opposing an evolving deal to end Pennsylvania's budget stalemate because of potential funding cuts for public-land protection and leasing of more state forest land for gas drilling. A deal supported by both parties in the Senate and House Democrats is on hold for now because Gov. Ed Rendell opposes some aspects of it. But conservation groups say the forests will suffer, as will recreational opportunities, if it passes, and gas-drilling companies that profit from the potentially lucrative Marcellus Shale gas formation will escape unscathed. "The integrity of our publicly owned state forests should not be sacrificed to fill a budget gap," more than 20 conservation groups, including PennEnvironment and the Sierra Club, wrote in a letter to legislators.