Dear Editor,

Last month the PennEast Pipeline Company of Wyomissing announced plans to construct a 100-mile natural gas pipeline to carry Marcellus Shale gas from Luzerne County underneath the Delaware River into Hunterdon and Mercer counties in New Jersey.Preliminary maps show the proposed pipeline running the entire length of Carbon County in a southeaster direction east of Jim Thorpe, which will place it in the neighborhood of some of our region's most popular tourist and outdoor recreation areas, including Hickory Run State Park, Lehigh Gorge, Jim Thorpe, Beltzville Lake and the Appalachian trail, to name a few.Carbon County is home to a multimillion dollar tourism and outdoor recreation industry that is heavily dependent on the integrity of our forests and the high water quality of our lakes and streams.If the PennEast pipeline is approved, Carbon County residents can expect more deforestation and a decline in water quality because of increased sedimentation of wetlands and streams crossed by the pipeline right of way, as well as the potential for divided communities and lowered property values along the pipeline route.The pipeline developers claim this project will create thousands of temporary construction jobs. However, given the environmental impacts of pipeline construction, those temporary construction jobs could very well be offset by a corresponding loss of jobs in the tourism and outdoor recreation sectors and a decline in revenues from hunting and fishing licenses within this highly scenic and unspoiled resort area.Juliet PerrinAlbrightsville