Natural Gas vs. Black History

Which is more important? A family farm settled by free African-Americans 200 years ago has a grant for historic preservation, but lies over a vast reserve of natural gas.

1 minute read

April 7, 2010, 11:00 AM PDT

By Tim Halbur


Darrin Youker writes, "[Denise] Dennis has been offered more than $800,000 for the right to drill-enough money to fulfill her dreams for the property, owned by the trust that she created in 2001. But so far, she's held out, trying to learn more about the environmental impacts-namely the large amounts of water and chemicals used in drilling.

"If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is," says Dennis, president of the Dennis Farm Charitable Land Trust. "What would be the point if I save the property but poisoned the water? To me, this farm is like a child."

Tuesday, April 6, 2010 in National Trust For Historic Preservation

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