11/11/2000 When Irene Brown examined a National Geographic map of the national forests, she could hardly find the tiny mark near Seneca Lake that represented the forest five miles from her house. But all national forests, including the tiniest of them all - the Finger Lakes National Forest - are fair game for companies that would like to pump out natural gas that may lie beneath the trees, shrubs and wildflowers. A year and a half ago, two companies approached the federal Bureau of Land Management, inquiring about leasing the rights for natural gas exploration and drilling in the forest, about 70 miles southwest of Syracuse. The Forest Service, which turns down few requests for logging or drilling, will probably make a decision in about a year. Meanwhile, opposition is forming among many of the people who hike, ski or camp in the woodlands. "I would hate to have this happen here," said Brown, who lives in Hector and serves on the town board. "This forest is just a pinpoint on the map of the U.S. when you compare it to other national forests. That kind of impact would be a disaster for the forest for a long time." The Forest Service would not make public the names of interested companies. Martha Twarkins, district ranger for the Finger Lakes National Forest, said a lot of companies search for natural gas on private land in Central New York and the Southern Tier. Companies would be named after bids for exploration rights are awarded, if the government decides to open the forest for drilling, Twarkins said. Natural gas companies are looking into natural gas supplies on public lands because the demand keeps increasing, said John Sharp, a spokesman for the Natural Gas Supply Association, a Washington D.C.- based group that represents most of the nation's major natural gas producers. Finding more gas reserves means lower prices for consumers, many of whom face soaring prices this winter, Sharp said. He added that environmentalists should keep in mind that using natural gas leads to cleaner air. "Natural gas is the cleanest of all fossil fuels, which is one of the reasons why people are demanding so much of it," Sharp said. On a map, the 16,032-acre Finger Lakes National Forest looks like a jigsaw puzzle with several pieces missing. The federal government bought up many failing farms in the 1930s and 1940s and the land became the national forest. The Forest Service added another piece in 1997 - a former Boy Scout camp with 1,000 feet of frontage on Seneca Lake. In the current proposal, 68 percent of the forest would be available for gas exploration. Drilling would not be allowed in the new lakefront parcel or within 200 feet of trails, ponds or camping areas, Twarkins said. While it isn't known how much natural gas is underneath the forest, the Bureau of Land Management estimated that, at most, there would probably be enough gas for 16 to 30 wells, clustered in groups of two to three per well pad. Two to three acres would have to be cleared for each well pad, Twarkins said. More land would have to be cleared for pipelines and roads, although the wells might be able to be built close to existing roads, Twarkins said. So far, Twarkins has received about 600 comments about the proposal, almost all of them in opposition. The Finger Lakes chapter of the Sierra Club opposes the project, as do other environmental groups, including the Cornell Greens and the Finger Lakes Forest Watch Congress. Sierra Club chair Erin Riddle said the group is concerned about destruction of habitat; increased truck traffic; noise pollution; possible hunting restrictions; possible groundwater contamination; and the loss of natural beauty. The public's next chance to comment will come when the draft environmental impact statement is ready, which should be in late January or early February, Twarkins said. That document is exploring several alternatives, including some that would limit drilling. One alternative, would not allow drilling inside the forest's boundaries and would require companies to reach the underground reserves of natural gas by drilling on nearby private land. National forests, unlike national parks, are specifically designed for multiple uses, Twarkins said. At Finger Lakes, farmers are allowed to put their cows in its pastures during the summer. The public can cut firewood for personal use and timber companies can cut as much as 400,000 board feet of lumber per year, although less than a quarter of that amount is typically cut. "Essentially our mission is to provide goods and services to the American public," Twarkins said. Natural gas could be one of those goods. "One of the thoughts is that we should try to provide for our needs domestically, so instead of importing, for example, natural gas or petroleum products, we should try and supply our needs in the United States," Twarkins said. Many opponents are not heartened by the National Forest Service record of approving drilling requests. "Natural gas and oil drilling on public lands is on the rise," said Jim Kleisser, forest watch director for the Allegheny Defense Project. "Demand for natural gas in this part of the country is sky- rocketing, in part due to energy deregulation initiatives." The anti-logging group Heartwood did a national study that showed from 1994 through 1998, the Forest Service authorized logging more than 4 million acres of national forest and chose not to log only eight times; decisions that effected 7,632 acres. Kleisser, who expected a similar approval rate for natural gas exploration, noted that drilling increased 60 percent during the Clinton administration. "Occasionally they don't go through with projects, but it's pretty rare," said Susan Curry, eastern field coordinator for the National Forest Protection Alliance. Curry said Central New York is one of the few places where there has been much opposition to natural gas drilling. Nationally, the attention has mainly been on logging, even though drilling also means clearing land for roads and pipelines. "Oil and gas has a horrible effect on the landscape," Curry said. "People tend to think it's putting one little pump in the ground." Sharp countered that natural gas companies have learned to be more environmentally sensitive and leave less of a mark on the land than in the past. "We take into consideration wildlife habitat and certain endangered species," he said. Opponents argue that the money from selling the forest's resources isn't worth it. The lease rights are awarded through a bidding process, with 25 percent going to local governments and the rest to the national treasury. "The national forests should be left standing," said Jesse Strock, a Cornell University junior and member of the Finger Lakes Forest Watch Congress. "We think they are much more valuable ecologically and economically for recreation and tourism than they are for extractive resources." In the last 12 years, many people have built houses in the town of Hector, which surrounds much of the forest, boosting the town's assessment from approximately $41 million to $181 million. With all the roads already cutting through the Finger Lakes National Forest, it definitely isn't a wilderness area. But it is "an absolutely gorgeous piece of property," said Mark Wagner, owner of Lamoreaux Landing Wine Cellars. "I wouldn't want to see them go in and do any damage of any kind to the forest," he said. "It's too pretty. That would defeat the whole purpose of the forest area." Art (ART) Caption: PHOTO Frank Ordonez/Staff photographer MARTHA TWARKINS, district ranger for the Finger Lakes National Forest, stands among the woods near Hector in Schuyler County, about 70 miles southwest of Syracuse. Companies want to obtain leasing rights for natural gas exploration and drilling in the forest. Color. MAP: Some fuming over gas drilling proposal. Syracuse Newspapers. Color.