Fracking Rallies Planned For Obama’s Cooperstown Visit

Bob Joseph/WNBF News [file][/caption]Opponents of high-volume hydraulic fracturing are planning to hold a demonstration in Cooperstown in conjunction with President Obama's scheduled visit to the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

Organizers say they hope to have the rally near the Hall of Fame but the location will be affected by security guidelines established by the Secret Service.

Obama is expected to be in Cooperstown Thursday afternoon.

When fracking foes gathered on Binghamton University's Vestal campus last August, they were kept a considerable distance away from where the president would be for a town hall-style meeting.

Isaac Silberman-Gorn of Citizen Action of New York expects some people from the Southern Tier will travel by car to Otsego County to participate in the planned rally.

Speaking on WNBF Radio's Binghamton Now program, Silberman-Gorn said the protest event is being organized by fracking opponents in the Cooperstown area.

Silberman-Gorn said operators of wineries and other regional businesses are expected to express their concern about the potential consequences if natural gas development is allowed in New York.

Vic Furman, field director for the Joint Landowners Coalition of New York, says people who support hydraulic fracturing also plan to gather in Cooperstown on Thursday.

Furman says they'll hold their own rally to let the president know they hope development of gas resources will be permitted to go forward.