Dave

We were at the Villa Roma in 2003 . It's an okay place . They get a lot of business from NYC and Jersey . I took my fishing pole and did some fishing in the Deleware River . Didn't catch anything but had some fun . A DEC officer came over and asked to see my license (which I had in the car) . This is only the 2nd time in my life I have seen a DEC Officer while hunting or fishing since 1965 ........ Eddie my property is only about 15-20 minutes from Villa Roma. Years are was fishing with my 4 sons all under 12 years old in Saugerties, they have a beach in town and was stopped by a DEC officer. Only time ever stopped.Dave

What were they eating? Nice video. Dave

Never know could be, our guys don't shoot does. Some may have been button bucks last year. I know there was a nice 6pt no one got maybe he is the 8pt I saw.Dave

I don't know what's going on but I was up at camp last weekend and there were bucks all out the place. Nice 8 pt all the way down to spikes. My house is on a dirt road and I looked out the door there were 3 deer feeding along the road all bucks 3 spikes. Plus I say a 4 pt and they are still growing. I must have seem 8 different bucks. Never in 18 years have I seem so many bucks. I have them on my trail camera too. Dave

Guy's check this out real. Dave [/size][/color]

Joe, what would people do if they shut down the supermarkets? How would they eat, who would provide for them. They can afford to have their attitudes as long as the supermarket shelves are stocked and can buy anything they want. In bad times it would be good to have a hunter for a friend. Dave

Hate to even think about such thing. Would take up wildlife photography and maybe even learn to trapping unless you consider that hunting. Always have fishing. Dave

ExactlyDave

Center puch Center punch, I am not questioning your Aunt's in any way. Just telling you what I was told and how that was different from what they told your aunt. If they offered her $600,000 per year I would say show me the money. Not trying to offend anyone , just passing along information. They don't offer that type of money unless they know exactly what's under the land.Dave

I think the payment plan is different than your aunt was told. First you are paid so much per acre and that is usually for a ten year lease. But that is a one time payment, not per year. The additional money comes in royalties if you have a producing well. There are landsmen around offering $550 per acre for only 3 years. This information from the landsmen who work for the gas drilling companies. Usually a drilling block would be 640 acres so if your aunt signed she would split the royalties with the other land owners in the block.Dave

Heading up state to cut the meadow and check on my trail cam. Hope to have something to share when I get back. Dave

What no stew meat!!!!!!!!!Dave

I would take that deal in a heart beat. Or even if I got a doe permit every other year.Dave

Joe, what strikes me is how people in the past did more with less. Now they do less with more.Dave

I don't think I have much of a chance to see one in Delaware county, not yet anyway, but I surely WOULD shoot it. I think the possibility of it carrying the disease is very small. Hunters kill lots of them down south and I have never heard of anyone getting sick after eating them. I am sure some pigs must have similar viruses down there also. I know these critters can be very destructive, but it sure wouldn't be a bad thing to have another very edible critter to hunt around here. Bears sure as hell are not appetizing to me, I don't care what anyone says about how good the meat is. Steve a friend of mind has a camp off rt.97 near long eddy off Houlahan Brook rd. And two years ago he saw one and didn't know what to think. So at dinner that nite he never mentioned it, till someone else in the group said they say a wild pig from his tree stand no one shot it. Where he is that's Delaware county, southern part of the county.Dave

Usually average one per year sometimes two. Usually take a doe with the bow, now that's not going to happen too often with the new 5 yr.plan. During the gun season have had many small bucks that I pass on year after year so mostly only one doe with the bow. Dave

Well first of all, don't be mixing me in with those that have been trying to figure how many tags we are getting. I haven't even begun to delve into that one yet. So I am consistant in not making any assumptions on this issue. I can only go by what the current situations are and what is written in the plan. I will leave all the wishful thinking to those of you who need that sort of thing to justify your argument. I didnt mean to mix you into the people guessing at tag numbers. Why dont you email DEC with your questions and post the answers? I always have good luck getting answers when I toss questions their way. Buck, this thread is going to ware you out.Dave

To answer your first question. The way it was explained to me by a landsman from the gas company.First they try to get a block of 640 acres this would be a combination of the land around the area they want to drill. So most likely this would be many parcels of land with many different owners. Those who sign a lease get paid a price per acres for example if you have a 100 acres and sign for $1000 you would get $100,000 and so would every one in the 640 block get paid for what dollar amount they have signed for per acre. Now if the well is a producing everyone in the block will receive royalties from the well. But if they extract gas from under your land and you didn't sign a lease you only get part of the royalties no up front money. I can't speak on the radon issue but I can tell you that the fracking fluid that has to be disposed of had been tested and is radio active. It and should be treated as hazardous waste but the gas companies are fighting this request. Remember that it takes millions of gallons of water to drill just one well and all this back wash has to be disposed of safely, IMHO this would mean treating all this before releasing it back to the rivers. Damage and explosions are not common but they do happen. Check for articles in Pennsylvania they have addressed these issues already.Plus Contaminated wells, chemical spills, fires etc. Dave

Virgil, we have been contacted twice by landsmen from the gas companies and the price per acre varied they want you to sign a lease as cheap as they can get your land. So there a bunch of land owner associations in all the counties affected they are all "Pro Fracking" . They feel that if they pool all the land they can get a better price than if you negotiate by yourself. And would have better leverage dictating terms in the gas leases. My group has been involved with Sullivan/Delaware landowners association since 2008 but they have been wrong as to when this will take affect.Dave

My great grandmother taught, grandmother taught, mother taught and wife is certified to teach. My great grandmother had classes of 50+ and never had an issue. By the time my mom was ready to retire she had kids that routinely hit, kicked, spit, swear and do every damn thing opposite of what was said. My great grandmother had consequences she could dole out and if that wasn't enough i will guarantee you the kid would get what was coming to them at home. Now days what are you going to do? And if you have parents that don't give a damn your up a creek without a paddle and you will most likely get the blame. You can argue that the quality of the teachers has gone down hill and I am not saying they are all spectacular but the quality of the parents isnt exactly a shining stare either. I agree where are the parents? Education is not only the teachers job but equally the parents responsibility. The kids these days are out of control and when you complain the parents side with the kids and don't back the teachers. No win situation...Dave

Ronald Regan once said the scariest thing you ever want to hear is " Were from the Government and we are here to help you"Dave

Why Dave.. you did your homework on that one.. good post... I think their want to get as much volume as possible from the area is probably the reason for the overfracturing of the ground... I wonder if they could do it safely with just water to a point where the cracks are only expanded enough to gain a bit more volume than is aquired by simply drilling?.. maybe their greed and wanting to extract every last bit of gas could be why the fracturing fluid is used.. Makes no sense to me to use a dangerous chemical anywhere that can contaminate the earth... let alone peoples wells and drinking water. Joe, I am for clean air, water hate noise pollution. And I love hunting and I think this Gas Drilling will affect our quality of life. I think I can say that you are passionate about the same things, just hate to see it ruined just so some people can make money. I said this before, there is only so much land and they ain't making any more, protect what you have. Law makers can't say if done safely, or if done correctly there is no problems. There are no IF's it must be done safely with minimal impact on the environment and the people who live there.Also remember that Christy Whitman Was in charge or the EPA on 9-11 and said that the air was safe breathe now we know differently and now the EPA tells us that Hydro Fracking is safe. I have to say I don't believe a dam thing they say. Something to think about, who do you trust? Dave

The drilling Called Hydro Fracking is much different than the old vertical method. This new process involved drilling down several thousand feet and then like a wheel with spokes branches out in all directions 360 degrees horizontally. They use water pressure, sand and chemicals to fracture the geological formation which has gas trapped in it. They are not drilling down to some cavern filled with methane, the gas is in the rock formation itself. Once the gas is released it makes its way to the surface to a well head casing that will be capped to prevent gas from escaping . The big problem that I see is that once the geological formation is drilled down several thousand feet all the rock formations down to that point are damaged (CRACKED ) . So now the released gas has other ways to make it to the surface without using the well head piping. Methane is a lighter than air gas so it will rise and vent through the soil and find the path of least resistance. This is how the gas migrates to homes, underground aquifers, and private wells supplying water to land owners. Point being the gas doesn't always go where you want it to go. So not only will you have a release of methane you also have the back wash of the millions of gallons of water laced with fracking fluid that can also migrate through the underground cracks and fissors. This is how the land and water get contaminated. Dave

If it's good with you it's good with me.Dave

Doc, very well put in a nut shell.Dave