Indian Summer fadeout...

Cedar Creek near Double Trouble State Park, NJ Pine Barrens

Bridge Pier in Delaware River between Pt Pleasant & Byram

Here is a story about gas drilling in one of Pennsylvania's beautiful state forests. It's a sad story that is soon to be repeated over and over. The 18% tax the state will earn on the drilling operations will never replace the polluted creeks and contaminated aquifers.

It really looks as if the balmy weather will soon be over but that doesn't mean the paddling season is over, it never really ends. I'm still looking for some significant rain to get the small Piedmont and Highland streams up to a runnable level. Until then there are a number of Pineland rivers to visit.

Last Saturday I joined a group of mostly canoeists from the Mohawk Canoe Club (and Philly Canoe Club) for a trip down Cedar Creek. It lived up to its name with Atlantic Cedars lining the riparian woodlands all the way. Sadly, once we paddled past the Garden State Parkway it became the most trashed stream I've been on since a trip down Toms River a few years ago. Some of the people who live in this region are serious, dedicated slobs.

Hot & Heavy Water...

Gas drilling in Marcellus Shale presents a number of threats to the environment and to the people who reside in the areas targeted for exploration and extraction. Groundwater pollution, spills, truck traffic, air pollution and explosions are all part of the mix.

Add radioactive wastewater to that list and you have the latest threat that has drilling proponents scrambling to downplay yet another serious threat and regulators wondering how to deal with a problem that may not have an economically viable solution.

Read about this latest development in ProPublica.

There is also an article about gas drilling on the Rodale website.

There's an outside chance that we'll receive significant rain from Hurricane Ida depending on how it moves after hitting the Florida Panhandle. That would be a good thing for paddlers waiting for the smaller creeks and rivers to come up before it gets too cold.

Land & Water Appropriations...

Congress passed the Interior and Environment Appropriations Bill for fiscal year 2010. The bill provides a $4.7 billion increase over 2009 and a large chunk will fund the Land and Water Conservation Fund as well as water infrastructure. Follow the above link to read the official summary. I haven't delved into the gory details yet but they can be found here.

I did learn from a separate source that the legislation included $750,000 to the USFWS for the purchase of new tracts of land to expand the recently designated Cherry Valley National Wildlife Refuge, which is located in Monroe County and near the Water Gap.

Indian Summer Light...

Wading River Headwaters

Looie and Grace on the Wading River below Speedwell

Upper Wading River

Grace with the smiling face on the Wading River

Chris on the Delaware River near Carpentersville

Two consecutive days on very different rivers = balm for the soul. Tuesday we paddled the 9-mile Easton to Riegelsville stretch of the Delaware River with a fellow who is a cultural anthropologist with an interest in the river and the people who live along its shores. It was his first look from the center of the river, and what a spectacular, cool fall day it was for a river trip.

Wednesday we headed to the NJ Pine Barrens for a trip on the Wading River between Speedwell and Godfrey Bridge. We put in at the uppermost part of the river and crashed through and slunk under the brush and blowdowns of this extremely beautiful little stream. At the launch site the road was peppered with cranberries that fell off trucks carrying a steady stream of the berries to the Ocean Spray plant. We were in the heart of cranberry country and harvesting was in progress.

This was about 5 full hours of steady paddling with one relatively brief lunch break (approximately 14 miles). The Wading River, particularly the uppermost reach is an incredibly twisting affair and it is mostly surrounded by hardwoods, pine and the beautiful Atlantic Cedar. It's all sand with intermittent gravel bars. The air was fragrant with fall foliage and pine needles, the water a dark tea color that defines the Pine Barren streams.

I look forward to paddling more Pine Barren rivers this coming fall and winter. Thanks to Looie, Grace and Chris for sharing such a fine day on one of the sweetest rivers on the planet.

Just ahead...Indian Summer

The Musconetcong River, despite days of intermittent rain, is lower right now than before the nor'easters began. It's running below average for this time of year according to the Bloomsbury gage.

The flow coming out of Lake Hopatcong is less than half the median daily flow over the past 53 years. The lake discharge is the main branch of the river.

According the Belvidere gage the Delaware River is running just above the average flow for this date. That's where we'll be this week.

Three days on the river...

Rejuvenated somewhat from a 3 night canoe camping trip along the Delaware River. Paddled one day with two buddies and solitude for the rest of the trip. Saw nary a bear but observed a few bald eagles and many mergansers.

Heading Upriver...

It's about time. Sleeping this evening in Worthington State Forest - black bear capital of NJ - and joining Delaware Riverkeeper staff for a Sunday day trip, followed by a 2-day solo canoe camp through the beautiful Walpack Bend section.

If you don't hear from me by Wednesday it means I'm well on the way to becoming bear scat (not sure about the turnaround time in a bear's digestive tract).

Frickin' Frac

The PA DEP is coming down on Cabot with an order to stop hydro fracturing operations in Susquehanna County, at least for now. Read the story in ProPublica.

Yesterday was the Delaware Valley Division of the American Canoe Association's Annual Picnic Paddle and Meeting. We reelected the existing slate of Directors and had a nice cookout at Tinicum County Park. The 7 mile run down the river took place in a warm mist but it was a lovely morning on the river and never actually rained.

We saw a solitary osprey right at the beginning of the trip near Stover Mill and also observed spotted sandpipers, great blues, wood duck, merganser and several cormorants. The highlight of the trip was my second unplanned swim within the past two weeks (and only my third so far this century) and that was really only remarkable because I took Sharon along with me. We were paddling an unsinkable battleship (Penobscot 17'), or so I thought. The partially submerged rock did the trick, paddling backwards (facing downstream) was another contributing factor. We needed a wake up and being one with the river did that for us. Once again the water was warm and there is no river east of the Mississippi that I'd rather fall into.

Next up - fall canoe camping somewhere upriver.

Tidal River...

"Love" in the Reading Terminal Train Shed

Took the train into Philly for a meeting at the office of the Pennsylvania Environmental Council to discuss an upcoming recreational user survey and the potential for expanding access on the tidal river.

PEC recently completed a Tidal Delaware River Water Trail Guide, which can be found on this website.

The tidal portion of the river presents serious challenges for paddlers, and the difficulties that one can encounter can be are made even worse in those sections that are surrounded by bulkheads and docks. There are a few opportunities for paddlers to explore the tidal Delaware River, but not so much around the city itself. Most people in Philly paddle on the non-tidal Schuylkill River above Fairmont Dam, where one can encounter every type of human powered boat between Boathouse Row and Manayunk. The tidal Delaware River has potential for increased use by non-powered boats, but its extremely limited due to lack of access.

The tidal Delaware is not the kind of environment that will ever support private livery services for novice paddlers. But it could be a paddling destination for urban paddlers who want to paddle locally or for experienced paddlers who could be enticed by a combination of paddling and cultural amenities.

A meeting in Philly invariably involves a gastronomic adventure or two and it this case the Society Hill Hotel Bar (Paulaner Octoberfest and cheese steak) and a trip to the best gelato place on the planet. Killer diet too, which perhaps explains why one sees so many people waddling about town.

Cabot + Halliburton = Polluted Wells & Streams

All manner of PA officials including politicians and agency 'crats have been downplaying the impacts of gas drilling on watersheds (water quality and quantity). This is not surprising considering the economic boon realized by landowners, energy companies, and of course the state budget.

ProPublica covers this story about pollution problems caused by Cabot Oil and Gas in northern PA. Cabot is a drilling firm that uses (and it would seem abuses) a chemical compound manufactured by the notorious (drum roll...) HALLIBURTON. No lie. Natural gas drilling polluted nine private wells, a wetland area and Stevens Creek in the Susquehanna watershed according to the PA DEP.

According to Penn Future in a statement made September 11, a proposed PA budget deal that was recently announced included a "massive giveaway to huge, multi-national energy corporations that want full and immediate access to drill, baby, drill in our public forests and parks." This was was pushed heavily by PA Republicans with some bipartisan support ("drill baby drill" is a regularly used Republican Campaign slogan made popular by former Governor Palin).

The newly proposed acres would be in addition to the hundreds of thousands of acres already under lease, mostly for natural gas extraction. According to Penn Future the legislature also failed to adopt the severance tax on drilling operations, something many of us supported through our letters to state reps and senators.

Go to the Penn Future website to listen to a discussion by Jan Jarrett. It's an easy way to get a summary of this issue which is so critical for all people living within the Marcellus Shale formation in PA. It is a huge issue for the Susquehanna River and Upper Delaware River watersheds (including a portion of NY).

Gas drilling is a hot topic in Texas, Michigan and several other states, as I have found out through participation in a Google Group for folks who are dealing directly with gas drilling. And that means they are involved with their neighbors. Many of the communities involved in northern PA have revolved around the entire progression of historic resource extraction over hundreds of years; industries like timber and coal. The Marcellus Shale formation is a big chunk of Appalachia.

I know how welcome the revenues from gas drilling were for my late Uncle Cecil Parsons of Canaan Valley, WV. He and Aunt Ginny were farmers in a Zone 5 climate, and the gas dollars helped supplement income from beef, hay and of all things -- cauliflower (1960's). But to my knowledge the drilling operation was small and low impact. Indeed their farm now abuts the nation's 500th National Wildlife Refuge.

But as the links referenced above show, serious damage to the natural environment is occurring and it is widespread. Gas drillers are like utility companies as far as the techniques they use to conquer and divide the people who own the tracts of land that happen to be the places the geologists predict will yield gas. I have experienced 'divide and conquer' and have seen the damage done when things go wrong with certain pipeline and electric companies. They also have the political influence (AKA lots of dollars) to influence elected officials at all levels, but especially state senators and representatives.

A confluence of economic conditions and geopolitical events is causing a flood of drilling pressure in every direction. Each company brings its own proprietary blend of chemicals to split open the earth and each is capable of ruining streams and contaminating groundwater. Pennsylvania is set to open the flood gates even though its own environmental enforcement structure is inadequate to monitor drillers and enforce its regulations. That's left up to the drillers themselves and that can't stand. It will become the responsibility of the people who would potentially be harmed.

According to an industry source "Oil and Gas Investor" Cabot is increasing production in PA and they are just one of several operating within the commonwealth and adjacent areas in New York.

Local watershed associations are needed to put the focus on watershed systems rather than discreet drilling sites and site specific problems.