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Public Meeting: Possible Gas Development in Loyalsock State Forest    • Williamsport, 06/03 A Watershed United: First annual meeting and conference of the Coalition of the Delaware River Watershed    • Lambertville, NJ, 06/10 Climate Change Advisory Committee meetings, 2013 Harrisburg open to the public; dates subject to change    • July 2    • October 8

Proposed raid on Keystone Fund uniting Keystone Staters
Gov. Corbett's plan to permanently eliminate the Keystone Recreation, Park and Conservation Fund is the largest proposed cut to conservation funding in state history. Since 1993, the Keystone Fund has supported 846 trail projects, helped conserve 145,909 acres of green space, assisted 2,557 community park projects, and made hundreds of significant investments in our state parks, state forests, and county conservation planning efforts.

The silver lining is that a wide range of organizations across Pennsylvania are rallying to save Keystone funding. Just a few of those joining Dylan Thomas by declaring in writing that they won't go gently include the Lancaster County Conservancy, the Rails to Trails Conservancy, the Pennsylvania Recreation and Park Society and the Wildlands Conservancy, the Pennsylvania Land Trust Association, and outdoor columnist Ben Moyer who also chairs the National Road Heritage Corridor.

Make your voice heard
If you value the Keystone Fund, email or call your state House and Senate members, or better yet, set up a meeting in their district offices. PennFuture's Take Action site can help you send your message. Need more details to make your case? The Pennsylvania Land Trust Association has some great info, including:

• a list, sorted by county, of the thousands of projects that used Keystone funding, and
• a terrific fact sheet.

Pennsylvania Fish & Boat Commission can't go it alone
The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) this week denied the request of the Pennsylvania Fish & Boat Commission (PFBC) and others in the conservation community to list the Susquehanna River as impaired under the Clean Water Act.

In a response letter to the PFBC, DEP claims that water quality data doesn't indicate impairment. But the facts are troubling. Just one example is that fish, particularly smallmouth bass, are having a tough go of it. Disease, lesions, and black spots are symptoms of a much larger problem or set of problems.

It's time for DEP to stop delaying action by denying the need for it. It's time for the two agencies to work together to start identifying and implementing collaborative solutions to protect our waterways here and downstream. The Fish & Boat Commission can't go it alone.

You can help make this happen by adding your voice before May 22 to the public comments on the incomplete draft list of impaired waters by sending an email.

Impact fee widely approved after initial hiccups
All 27 counties with active Marcellus Shale wells have now adopted the impact fee. In addition, according to the Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center, another 16 counties that have no producing wells have also adopted the fee.

We're looking for a legal eagle
PennFuture is seeking a staff attorney for our Pittsburgh office. The successful applicant's future docket will include work on unconventional shale drilling, air quality, and alternative energy. Visit our jobs board for further details. Applications are due May 15.

Letting the Sunshine in
We learned today that the Pennsylvania Office of Open Records (OOR) granted our appeal of the Department of Environmental Protection's (DEP) refusal to release records on the Pennsylvania Sunshine Solar Program. Specifically, OOR says DEP must release the information PennFuture had requested. The information will allow PennFuture to establish an interactive Web tool that will identify solar electric (PV) and hot water systems, which will show the growth of the solar industry across Pennsylvania.

Lend a hand — and your voice — on Earth Day
Every day should be Earth Day, but in honor of the official Earth Day this Sunday, consider pitching in on a volunteer cleanup or conservation project somewhere in Penn's Woods. The Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) has a listing of this weekend's events on its Conservation Volunteer site, and the Pennsylvania Parks and Forests Foundation has a listing of events hosted by the friends groups of various state parks and state forests.

Enviros who can carry a tune are joining across the nation to simultaneously sing “This Land is Your Land,” and videotape it. All the tapes will then be edited together to make one great sing out. Pennsylvania's sing out is at 2:15 p.m. Sunday at the Blockhouse in Point State Park in Pittsburgh.

What's your EEIQ? (Energy Efficiency Intelligence Quotient)
Be part of the winning team at The Electrifying Future of Efficiency, our open house and quiz show about saving energy on Thursday, April 26, from 6 - 9 p.m. at the Grey Box Theatre, 3595 Butler Street in Lawrenceville. Ladies United for the Preservation of Endangered Cocktails (LUPEC) will be whipping up special libations and talking up women's history. And Quizmaster Dave Mansueto will conduct the competition among teams formed during the cocktail hour. Winners will get great energy savings swag! Lots of vendors, too. Cost is $15 ($10 for students) unless you're a PennFuture member — then it's free. Register and start studying your energy efficiency facts.

PennFuture's Session Daze is designed to be a brief, informative and occasionally humorous look at public policy in Pennsylvania. Please visit our website for more information about PennFuture.

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