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ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEWS AND CASE STUDIES: Hydraulic Fracturing Threats to Species with Restricted Geographic Ranges in the Eastern United States

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  13 December 2012

Jennifer L. Gillen  and
Erik Kiviat
Jennifer L. Gillen
Affiliation:
Environmental and Urban Studies Program, Bard College, Annandale, New York
Erik Kiviat*
Affiliation:
Hudsonia Ltd., Annandale, New York
*
Erik Kiviat, Executive Director, Hudsonia Ltd., PO Box 5000, Annandale, NY 12504; (phone) 845-758-7273; (fax) 845-758-7033; (e-mail) kiviat@bard.edu
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Abstract

High-volume horizontal hydraulic fracturing (fracking) is a new technology that poses many threats to biodiversity. Species that have small geographic ranges and a large overlap with the extensively industrializing Marcellus and Utica shale-gas region are vulnerable to environmental impacts of fracking, including salinization and forest fragmentation. We reviewed the ranges and ecological requirements of 15 species (1 mammal, 8 salamanders, 2 fishes, 1 butterfly, and 3 vascular plants), with 36%–100% range overlaps with the Marcellus-Utica region to determine their susceptibility to shale-gas activities. Most of these species are sensitive to forest fragmentation and loss or to degradation of water quality, two notable impacts of fracking. Moreover, most are rare or poorly studied and should be targeted for research and management to prevent their reduction, extirpation, or extinction from human-caused impacts.

Environmental Practice 14:1–12 (2012)

Type
Features
Information
Environmental Practice , Volume 14 , Issue 4 , December 2012 , pp. 320 - 331
Copyright
Copyright © National Association of Environmental Professionals 2012

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