Delaware Highlands Conservancy Announces 2011 Natural Gas Guidelines

Hawley, PA and Monticello, NY – The Delaware Highlands Conservancy has released its guidelines for land protection decisions involving natural gas leases.

The Delaware Highlands Conservancy is an accredited land trust that works with willing landowners and communities to protect the natural heritage and quality of life of in the Upper Delaware region. The Conservancy’s gas guidelines reflect its judgment, after much study and discussion, that the introduction of gas drilling into our region complicates and compromises our efforts to achieve our mission:  the protection of the lands, waters, and quality of life in the Upper Delaware region now and for future generations.

Since the Conservancy must continue to carry out its mission whether or not gas drilling occurs in the Upper Delaware region, we have adopted a set of guidelines to inform our land protection efforts. The Conservancy’s Land Protection Committee advises the Board of Directors on all land protection decisions and makes recommendations as to whether the Conservancy should acquire conservation easements on particular lands. The guidelines require the Committee to undertake enhanced evaluation when considering properties where there are, or may be, gas leases. The guidelines also make it clear that our Board of Directors is the ultimate decisionmaker with respect to gas issues. Only in cases of exceptionally important lands where there are assurances that drilling will have no impacts will we consider acquiring a conservation easement.

Land trusts like the Delaware Highlands Conservancy are vital contributors to land conservation, especially in areas facing extraordinary challenges like natural gas drilling.  A five-year census of the nation’s 1700 private land trusts released in November 2011 by the Land Trust Alliance, a national conservation organization, shows that nonprofit land trusts across the United States have protected more than 10 million acres from 2005 to 2010. That's an increase of 27 percent in just five years. A total of 47 million acres — an area over twice the size of all the national parks in the contiguous United States — are now protected by land trusts.

"Even when times are tough, people want to take care of their home — the places they seeevery day," says Rand Wentworth, Land Trust Alliance president. Wentworth also notes strong tax incentives for landowners that encourage protecting farms and forest lands rather than allowing them to be sold for development.

The Delaware Highlands Conservancy has actively and successfully contributed to this national trend by helping to protect over 7000 acres of agricultural lands, working forestlands, recreational areas, watersheds, rivers and streams in the Upper Delaware region, since 2005 when the census was begun and over 13,000 acres since 1994 when the Conservancy was founded. 

“The Conservancy is proud to be part of the cadre of land trusts nationwide doing so much to protect working farms and forests and the quality of life associated with healthy lands and waters,” states Executive Director, Sue Currier. “Our gas guidelines are in line with our land protection mission, and will support our continued conservation efforts in the region,” Currier adds.

The LTA census also shows a 70 percent increase in active land trust volunteers since 2005 as more and more community members come to realize the value of land trusts as private local institutions that contribute greatly to sustaining a community’s healthy lands, waters, and quality of life. Anyone interested in volunteering at the Conservancy, in becoming a member, or attending a Conservancy event, call 570-807-0535 or 570-226-3164 or email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

Download a PDF copy of the Gas Guidelines.