OSU Extension Hosts Shale Workshop for Landowners Feb. 23

CANFIELD, Ohio -- Landowners interested in shale energy development may want to attend an Ohio State University Extension workshop on Feb. 23.

"Shale and You: A Workshop for Landowners" will be held at the Mill Creek MetroParks Farm, 7574 Columbiana-Canfield Road, Canfield, 1-5:30 p.m.

Registration is $15. Materials and refreshments will be guaranteed to those whose registrations arrive at the OSU Extension Ag Law's office in Columbus by Feb. 18. The registration form with the office's address and other details is available at http://shalegas.osu.edu. Click on the "Shale and You" event under "Upcoming Extension Events."

"We held a similar workshop in Cambridge last November, and those who attended said they got a lot out of it," said Peggy Hall, assistant professor and OSU Extension field specialist in agricultural and resource law.

“Participants especially appreciated the ability to talk one-on-one with OSU Extension educators at information booths over the course of the day.”

Hall, who is coordinating the effort, emphasizes that the workshop is designed to help landowners make the best decisions possible.

It's not geared to discuss the pros and cons of such development, she said.

“As an educational institution, OSU Extension is focused on providing relevant information to help those who are dealing with shale energy development.

"We don't set policy or make decisions for people."

OSU Extension is the outreach arm of Ohio State University's College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences.

The workshop will include presentations by OSU Extension educators, including sessions on:

• Update on Ohio Shale Development and Activity, by Chris Penrose, OSU Extension educator in Morgan County.
• Leasing and Landowners: What if Problems Arise? by Hall.
• Taxation and Wealth Management of Oil and Gas Income, by Dave Marrison, OSU Extension educator in Ashtabula and Trumbull counties, and Polly Loy, OSU Extension educator in Belmont County.
• Your Private Water Source: When and Why to Test, by Sarah Cross, OSU Extension educator in Harrison and Jefferson counties, and Hall.
• Pumping the Product: Pipeline Construction, by Mark Landefeld, OSU Extension educator in Monroe County, and Chris Zoller, OSU Extension educator in Tuscarawas County.
• One Family's Experience with Shale Development, featuring Steve Schumacher, OSU Extension educator in Belmont County and a panel of landowners who have dealt with shale development directly.

The workshop is being partially funded by a grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's North Central Region Risk Management Education Center.

For more information, contact Chris Hogan with OSU Extension's Agricultural Law Program at 614-247-7898 or hogan.154@osu.edu.

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Note: The event's registration flyer is available to download as a PDF by clicking here.