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Gas drilling on public lands in Arkansass will join logging work which has been going on for decades. This scene is deep in the Ozark National Forest north of Atkins. (Joe Mosby Photo) Gas drilling on AGFC land Saturday, Aug 2, 2008 By Joe Mosby Follow the money. It's an old axiom about getting to the core of a hot issue, and the leasing of Arkansas Game and Fish Commission land for natural gas drilling is a vivid example today. A few days ago the AGFC signed leases with Chesapeake Energy for five years for parts of the Gulf Mountain Wildlife Management Area in Van Buren County and the Petit Jean WMA in Yell County. The AGFC is getting $29.5 million. If wells are drilled successfully and gas is produced, the agreement will bring many more millions to AGFC in the form of 20 percent royalties. It should be surprising to no one in Arkansas that opinions are coming forth from all sides, along with outstretched hands. Other entities want a piece of this lip-smacking pie. First, a look at this relatively new topic of leasing for natural gas drilling. The Game and Fish Commission owns hundreds of thousands of acres of land in all parts of Arkansas and operates management areas and lakes on much more land through assorted agreements and partnerships. When the Fayetteville Shale gas "play" burst upon the scene about four years ago, AGFC officials knew they had lands in the hot area - chiefly Gulf Mountain and Ed Gordon/Point Remove WMA in Conway County. Right along with the "ka-ching" thoughts came the realization that protection of the wildlife areas and the environment had to be at the top of negotiations with gas producing companies. An AGFC staff member commented, "It has been surprising how agreeable these gas people are when we talk about protecting wildlife habitat. They are with us on that point." Not long afterward came a major letdown for AGFC's people. Title searches resulted in the agency learning that it did not own the mineral rights to most of Ed Gordon-Point Remove WMA and also to other lands. AGFC's land has been obtained down through the years from all sorts of arrangements, and previous owners retained mineral rights in some instances. Supervision and inspection of the drilling activities is needed, most officials say, and this falls to the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ) and the Arkansas Oil and Gas Commission (AOGC). Both agencies are woefully understaffed when it comes to field work with the drilling operations. Should the Game and Fish Commission share this windfall, this $29.5 million plus future royalty money, with other involved agencies? Gov. Mike Beebe and a number of others think so. AGFC commissioners and administrators appear to be open to discussions, and this is a positive indication. But there is another side to the natural gas bonanza issue. Some activist groups, and the Sierra Club is one, have come forth in opposition - not to the sharing of the money but to the drilling on wildlife areas at all. Some hunters are wondering if gas drilling will mess up their deer hunting. AGFC Chairman Freddie Black said, "We don't take this lightly. We know there will be impacts to people who hunt and fish in these areas, but we think it will be minimal. There will be no exploration during hunting season." Danny Games, director of corporate development for Chesapeake in Arkansas, said, "We're also sensitive to the concerns of citizens. Chesapeake uses the most advanced drilling and completion technologies and operates within the strictest safety guidelines to protect the health and safety of the public and the environment." For all Arkansans, not just state officials and hunters, this mineral rights leasing is a new but potentially major factor. State parks, schools and other public entities could be involved and could be recipients of significant payments in the future. How the current AGFC gas issue is handled may also be the setting of a precedent. -------- Joe Mosby is the retired news editor of the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission and Arkansas' best known outdoor writer. His work is distributed by the Arkansas News Bureau in Little Rock. He can be reached by e-mail at jhmosby@cyberback.com. |
