Voices Not Heard Natural Gas Development, Public Discourse, and Power in Wayne County, Pennsylvania BY Grace Wildermuth Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Bachelor of Arts in the Department of Sociology-Anthropology Middlebury College January 31st, 2014 Approved_____________________________ Chair, Department of Sociology-Anthropology Voices Not Heard Natural Gas Development, Public Discourse, and Power in Wayne County, Pennsylvania Grace Wildermuth ABSTRACT As members of the urban and suburban population continue to migrate to rural areas in search of a beautiful landscape and quiet way of life, conflict over the meaning of and ownership over the landscape emerges. New and already established populations tend to have dramatically different conceptions of landscape and environment, leading to struggles in local environmental policy. This research focuses on Wayne County, Pennsylvania and uses a current and polarizing issue, hydraulic fracturing for natural gas, to illuminate these tensions. The prevailing rhetoric put forth predominantly by those who have moved to the area from urban centers and those who come to the area for recreation has dominated the debate due to abundant resources and access to national and local media. This research was conducted in an effort to elevate an alternative rhetoric absent from the political discourse surrounding this issue. I conducted in-depth interviews with predominantly longtime residents who live and work on the landscape in order to understand the meaning they ascribe to hydraulic fracturing for natural gas on the landscape and the conflicts with new or part-time residents the issue has revealed. The interviews were supplemented with various media sources. Overall, I argue that the perspective of those who have not been heard is informed, nuanced, and must be acknowledged in order to accurately meet the needs of the area and allow for a more democratic and equitable discourse. 2 Table of Contents INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................................................................................4 METHODS....................................................................................................................................................................................5 POSITIONALITY ..........................................................................................................................................................................7 LITERATURE REVIEW.........................................................................................................................................8 HYDRAULIC FRACTURING.........................................................................................................................................................8 POLICY PROCESS .....................................................................................................................................................................11 NORTHERN WAYNE PROPERTY OWNERS ALLIANCE.......................................................................................................15 WAYNE COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.......................................................................................................................................16 MAP...........................................................................................................................................................................................17 RURAL LIFE..............................................................................................................................................................................18 BACK-TO-NATURE MOVEMENT...........................................................................................................................................18 AGRARIANISM VS. RURALISM ...............................................................................................................................................19 RURAL ATTITUDES TOWARDS ENVIRONMENTALISM......................................................................................................21 VOICES IN POLICY ...................................................................................................................................................................22 PASTORAL RETREATERS................................................................................................................................ 23 DOMINANT IDEOLOGY ...........................................................................................................................................................23 CHANGES TO THE COMMUNITY.............................................................................................................................................24 WHO QUALIFIES AS PART OF THE COMMUNITY?...............................................................................................................25 ABSENTEE VOICES..................................................................................................................................................................28 Celebrities ..............................................................................................................................................................................28 Josh Fox...................................................................................................................................................................................30 Urban Centers ......................................................................................................................................................................33 USERS VS. PRODUCERS ..........................................................................................................................................................34 THE WATER ISSUE .................................................................................................................................................................36 OUT OF TOUCH WITH REALITY? ..........................................................................................................................................38 PERCEIVED RISK .....................................................................................................................................................................39 PRIVILEGE ................................................................................................................................................................................41 TOURIST ECONOMY................................................................................................................................................................42 WORK VS. LEISURE.................................................................................................................................................................44 PROPERTY RIGHTS .................................................................................................................................................................47 LIVE AND WORKERS......................................................................................................................................... 48 SACRED MEANING OF THE LAND.........................................................................................................................................48 “GREEDY LANDOWNERS”......................................................................................................................................................50 “DUMB COUNTRY HICKS”......................................................................................................................................................56 RATIONALE FOR SIGNING LEASES ............................................................................................................... 58 REVERSE NIMBY ARGUMENT .............................................................................................................................................58 BENEFITS TO THE COMMUNITY ...........................................................................................................................................60 PRESERVING OPEN SPACE.....................................................................................................................................................62 LAND SUCCESSION..................................................................................................................................................................64 KEEPING THEIR LAND ...........................................................................................................................................................65 MOVING FORWARD .......................................................................................................................................... 66 POLICY ......................................................................................................................................................................................66 FUTURE OUTLOOK..................................................................................................................................................................71 CONCLUSION ......................................................................................................................................................