UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Penn State will offer a six-part series of online courses in the opportunities and challenges of exploring for natural gas in the Marcellus shale in much of Pennsylvania.

Courses

Created by Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences and Penn State Cooperative, the one-hour courses will be at 1 p.m. on the following dates:

– Dec. 18: What Marcellus shale exploration means for Pennsylvania, local communities and citizens
Presenter: Tim Kelsey, Penn State professor of agricultural economics

– Jan. 22: Landowners’ perspectives: What should be considered when negotiating a lease?
Presenter: Tom Murphy, Penn State Cooperative Extension educator

– Feb. 19: Third-party or off-site impacts: Water use and water quality issues
Presenter: Bryan Swistock, Penn State water resources extension specialist

– March 18: Above the Marcellus shale: Minimizing negative impacts of natural gas development on forests and wildlife
Presenter: Margaret Brittingham, Penn State professor of wildlife resources and Extension wildlife specialist

– April 16: The Marcellus Shale resource
Presenter: Terry Engelder, Penn State professor of geosciences

– May 21: Governments’ roles
Presenter: Ross Pifer, director of the Agricultural Law Resource and Reference Center at Penn State’s Dickinson School of Law.

Open to all

These sessions will cover topics ranging from the local government’s role in gas exploration to the effects of deep-well drilling methods on water supplies.

The series is targeted at Extension educators, representatives of federal and state agencies, conservation district personnel, municipal officials, planning agencies, economic development groups, environmental groups, people who might influence public policy or individual decisions regarding exploration for gas and interested citizens.

Individuals can register for each session at this Penn State Extension Web site. Shortly before each session date, registrants will receive an e-mail from Penn State Cooperative Extension with additional information about how to connect online.