HUDSONIA
Shale Gas Development Impacts on Biodiversity: A workshop for professionals
Workshop held at the Ashokan Center, Olivebridge, Ulster County, New York, Friday 14 June
2013 from 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM.
This is a workshop for professionals involved with siting, assessment, regulation, research, and
monitoring of shale gas development and high-volume horizontal hydraulic fracturing, including
consultants, researchers, college and graduate students, university and high school faculty,
environmental professionals, agency regulators, policy-makers, preserve and park managers,
ecological restorationists, and others.
Shale gas has engendered a great deal of controversy, largely because of its impacts on human
health, but effects on biological diversity and biological resources have scarcely been addressed in
the public debate. Nonetheless, many biologists in academic institutions, consulting firms, NGOs,
and government agencies have become interested in the biodiversity impacts, and biologists at
several institutions are conducting research on these impacts. Hudsonia has spent the past two
years synthesizing information on the physical and chemical aspects of shale gas mining, and
analyzing the known and potential impacts of this industry on habitats and species of the Marcellus
and Utica shale gas plays in the Appalachian Basin. Because shale gas development is moving
apace in several states and may begin in New York in the near future, we are offering this
workshop to professionals from New York and other states and countries who want to learn more
about the sensitivities of habitats and biota to shale gas industrial activities.
[cont.]
Participants in Hudsonia’s shale gas workshop will:
REVIEW the physical and chemical aspects of shale gas facilities most relevant to biodiversity,
LEARN which habitats and species of organisms are sensitive to or tolerant of industrial activity,
and where those occur in New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and West Virginia,
DISCOVER the results of published studies on biological impacts of hydraulic fracturing, and
DISCUSS the biodiversity resources that are most important in a region where shale gas facilities
are being sited, operated, or decommissioned and reclaimed.
Instructors: Erik Kiviat, PhD is a conservation scientist, zoologist, and botanist, and a co-founder
and the Executive Director of Hudsonia Ltd. Erik has been surveying biotas and analyzing land use
impacts in the Northeast since the 1960s. He is author or coauthor of important papers on the
biodiversity impacts of hydraulic fracturing, has presented on this subject to a variety of audiences,
and convened symposia on hydraulic fracturing at the 2011 and 2013 Northeast Natural History
Conferences. He is coauthor of the Biodiversity Assessment Manual for the Hudson River Estuary
Corridor, and the Biodiversity Assessment Handbook for New York City, and author of The
Northern Shawangunks: An Ecological Survey, several studies of biodiversity in the urbanindustrial New Jersey Meadowlands, and many other scientific papers, and technical and
nontechnical articles and reports on other aspects of biodiversity, wetlands, rare species, urban
environments, and ecological restoration.
Peter J. Petokas, PhD is a Research Associate in the Clean Water Institute of Lycoming College in
Williamsport, Pennsylvania. He has studied wildlife and streams in Pennsylvania and New York
for 35 years. During the past 7 years he has conducted research on the hellbender, a giant stream
salamander, and its crayfish prey, in streams of the shale gas regions of north central Pennsylvania
and the Southern Tier of New York. Peter has also studied turtles for many years, and is well
versed in the general field biology of the region.
Participation is limited and by application only, to ensure that the workshop is offered to
conservationists, managers, regulators, policy-makers, and other professionals who can make the
best use of the information (and to help us tailor the workshop to your interests). An application
form is appended to this announcement.
Fee: $275 per person, payable in full by check or credit card by 1 June ($250 if paid by 15 May);
discounts may be available to individuals or NGOs who truly need one. Fee includes lunch and
other refreshments, course materials (reprints and handouts), and (on request) a certificate of
participation. The Ashokan Center facilities are lovely inside and out, and we welcome the
opportunity to teach there. Overnight accommodations and additional meals are available but must
be arranged with the Center in advance.
Please see the application, below. Questions, contact Erik Kiviat <kiviat[at]bard.edu. >
Hudsonia, PO Box 5000, Annandale NY 12504 USA, 845-758-7053
hudsonia.org
Application
Shale Gas Development Impacts on Biodiversity: A Hudsonia Workshop for Professionals
Name ________________________________
E-mail address __________________________
Telephone: day ________________ evening__________________ cell_____________________
Affiliation(s)/Employer(s) _________________________________________________________
Mailing address _________________________________________________________________
Primary interest(s) in workshop as a:
Consulting biologist_____ Land manager_____ Restorationist______ Researcher______
Regulatory agency staffperson______ Policy-maker______ Engineer______
Student______ Educator______ Other________________________________________________
Primary activity(ies):
Field______ Office______ Other______
Geographic area of professional activity: ______________________________________________
Environment(s) working in:
Wildland______ Rural______ Suburban/Urban______
Experience with shale gas facilities and hydraulic fracturing
Professional workshops or conferences attended recently
Why I want to take this workshop and how I will apply what I learn
How I found out about this workshop:
Web______ News from Hudsonia______ Email from Hudsonia______
Mailing from Hudsonia______ Professional society______ Friend or Colleague______
I would like to receive News from Hudsonia twice per year (paper copy only): Yes___ No___
(Hudsonia does not give, sell, or trade personal information.)
Hudsonia, PO Box 5000, Annandale NY 12504 USA, 845-758-7053, hudsonia.org, kiviat[at]bard.edu