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Pipeline Right-of-Ways: Making the Connection between Forest Fragmentation and the Spread of Lyme Disease in Southwestern Pennsylvania
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Overview
Lyme disease has been a growing concern across the United States as cases have continued to spread in recent years. While many ecological factors may contribute to the spread of Lyme disease, two of the most significant factors are believed to be climate change and forest fragmentation.
This study uses multiple linear regression to assess the role that different pipeline construction proxies play in the change in average annual Lyme disease rate in Pennsylvania counties from 2001 to 2019. The findings of this research suggest a possible relationship between one of the pipeline proxies (the cumulative number of wells drilled in each county) and change in average annual Lyme disease rate.
Oil and Gas Pipelines and Lyme Disease Rates
At the beginning of the 21st century, Lyme disease was only concentrated in small pockets of Pennsylvania. However, over the past 20 years, cases have spread to every county in the state. A major contributing factor to the spread of cases in southwestern Pennsylvania could be increased forest fragmentation caused by pipeline right-of-ways. Oil and gas pipelines require that 50 to 100 feet right-of-ways be cleared for the entire length of the pipeline. Fracking has increasingly dominated the region since the early 2000s, meaning that the need for new pipelines has also grown.
Mapping Variables Used in This Study
This interactive map looks at the cumulative number of wells drilled, total change in forest edge, total change in forest cover, and average annual change in population from 2001 to 2019 in each Pennsylvania county, which were all inputted independent variables in a multiple linear regression model against the dependent variable of observed average annual change in Lyme disease rate.
View the map “Details” tab below in the top right corner to learn more and access the data, or click on the map to explore the dynamic version of this data. Data sources are also listed at the end of this article.
In order to turn layers on and off in the map, use the Layers dropdown menu. This tool is only available in Full Screen view.
Items will activate in this map dependent on the level of zoom in or out.
View Full Size Map | Updated 8/23/2022| Map Tutorial
The Take Away
- Lyme disease has spread throughout the entire state of Pennsylvania over the past two decades.
- Research done by the U.S. Geological Survey indicates that approximately 67% of new forest fragments in southwestern Pennsylvania from 2000 to 2010 could be attributed to natural gas infrastructure.
- Forest fragmentation and climate change are believed to be key contributors to the spread of Lyme disease.
- Data on the construction of pipelines over time in Pennsylvania is not well documented, so it is difficult to know whether forest fragmentation caused by pipeline right-of-ways is contributing to the spread of Lyme disease or not.
The results of this study indicate that there may be an association between the construction of pipeline right-of-ways and Lyme disease rates, however, more research is recommended to validate these findings. This research is intended to bring attention to the influence that oil and natural gas infrastructure might have on the spread of Lyme disease, but also on the need for better data on pipelines. Efforts have been made to map the locations of gathering lines, but the data that has been collected is by no means complete (FracTracker Alliance, 2020). In order to understand the health impacts that pipelines have on communities, it is essential to have quality data on where they are located.
Read the full study by FracTracker Environmental Health Fellow Ana Abel below.
Acknowledgements
Support for this research provided by FracTracker Alliance. Funding for this fellowship provided by Community Foundation for the Alleghenies and The Heinz Endowments.
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![](https://www.fractracker.org/a5ej20sjfwe/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/49770601811_6cc7e18996_k-1030x492.jpg)
2021 Pipeline Incidents Update: Safety Record Not Improving
![](https://www.fractracker.org/a5ej20sjfwe/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/New-York-State-wells-feature-1030x458.jpg)
New York State Oil & Gas Well Drilling: Patterns Over Time
![](https://www.fractracker.org/a5ej20sjfwe/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Byhalia-map-feature-2-1030x458.jpg)
Risky Byhalia Connection Pipeline Threatens Tennessee & Mississippi Health, Water Supply
![](https://www.fractracker.org/a5ej20sjfwe/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Falcon-Ohio-River-Crossing-Feature-A.LauschkeLightHawk-1030x458.jpg)
Shell’s Falcon Pipeline Under Investigation for Serious Public Safety Threats
![](https://www.fractracker.org/a5ej20sjfwe/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Arvin-CA-well-sites-and-schools-feature-1030x458.jpg)
Kern County’s Drafted EIR Will Increase the Burden for Frontline Communities
![](https://www.fractracker.org/a5ej20sjfwe/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Waste-Disposal-Wells-in-Pennsylvania-feature-1030x458.jpg)
Pennsylvania’s Waste Disposal Wells – A Tale of Two Datasets
![Los Angeles, California skyline](https://www.fractracker.org/a5ej20sjfwe/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Los-Angeles-skyline-feature-1030x458.jpg)
California Oil & Gas Setbacks Recommendations Memo
![](https://www.fractracker.org/a5ej20sjfwe/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Figure-2.-There-are-50-operational-oil-and-gas-wells-permitted-on-California-state-lands-in-the-Sacramento-River-Delta-feature-1030x458.jpg)
Oil and Gas Wells on California State Lands
![](https://www.fractracker.org/a5ej20sjfwe/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Control-your-dust-frac-sand-feature-1030x458.jpg)
Industrial Impacts in Michigan: A Photo Essay & Story Map
![CA Setbacks Map](https://www.fractracker.org/a5ej20sjfwe/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/CASetbacksMappic-1030x422.jpg)
People and Production: Reducing Risk in California Extraction
![](https://www.fractracker.org/a5ej20sjfwe/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Undermined-feature2-1030x458.jpg)
Undermined: Voices from the Frontlines of Frac Sand Mining
![](https://www.fractracker.org/a5ej20sjfwe/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/EQT-Tioga-Wide-7.gif)
Documenting emissions from new oil and gas wells in California
![](https://www.fractracker.org/a5ej20sjfwe/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/TAuch_infrastructure-wellpad-sandtruck-ChesapeakeAppalachia-RainSulWellpad-SullivanCounty-PA_July2020-feature-1030x458.jpg)
![Pipeline Map](https://www.fractracker.org/a5ej20sjfwe/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/ME2FeatureImage-1030x458.jpg)
Mariner East 2 Causes Dozens of Spills Since Lockdown Began, Over 300 in Total
![](https://www.fractracker.org/a5ej20sjfwe/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Pump_Jack_at_the_Lost_Hills_Oil_Field_In_Central_California-feature-1030x458.jpg)
Recommendations for an EIR to prioritize Kern County Frontline Communities
![Flaring at a natural gas compressor station in Butler County, Ohio](https://www.fractracker.org/a5ej20sjfwe/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/TAuch_Infrastructure-CompressorStation_Flaring-ButlerCounty_OH_Jan20183-1030x458.jpg)
![](https://www.fractracker.org/a5ej20sjfwe/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/Fracking-SW-PA-feature-Lois-Bower-Bjornson-1030x458.jpg)
Landscape Changes and Mental Health Impacts in Southwestern Pennsylvania Communities: A Qualitative Study
![](https://www.fractracker.org/a5ej20sjfwe/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/FracTracker-in-the-Field-promotion5-1030x579.jpg)
FracTracker in the Field: Building a Live Virtual Map
![](https://www.fractracker.org/a5ej20sjfwe/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/Loyalsock-feature-1030x458.jpg)
![Mapping gathering lines in OH and WV feature](https://www.fractracker.org/a5ej20sjfwe/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Mapping-gathering-lines-in-OH-and-WV-feature-1030x458.jpg)
Mapping Gathering Lines in Ohio and West Virginia
![](https://www.fractracker.org/a5ej20sjfwe/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/EQT-Tioga-Wide-7.gif)
Testimony to PA DEP on Control of Methane & VOC Emissions from Oil and Natural Gas Sources
![Oil & Gas waste tank operated by SWEPI and Enervest at the Hayes pad, Otsego County, Michigan May 21st, 2016](https://www.fractracker.org/a5ej20sjfwe/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Oil-Gas-waste-tank-in-Michigan-feature-1030x295.jpg)
The North Dakota Shale Viewer Reimagined: Mapping the Water and Waste Impact
![FracTracker Falcon Pipeline spills map](https://www.fractracker.org/a5ej20sjfwe/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/FalconPipelineFrontPage-1030x295.jpg)
Falcon Pipeline Construction Releases over 250,000 Gallons of Drilling Fluid in Pennsylvania and Ohio
![](https://www.fractracker.org/a5ej20sjfwe/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/CalGEM-Drilling-and-Rework-Permits-2015-2020-feature-1030x458.jpg)
Systematic Racism in Kern County Oil and Gas Permitting Ordinance
![Bushkill Falls PA](https://www.fractracker.org/a5ej20sjfwe/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/waterfall-1806956_1920-1030x497.jpg)
Fracking Water Use in Pennsylvania Increases Dramatically
![North Brooklyn Pipeline demographics map](https://www.fractracker.org/a5ej20sjfwe/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/North-Brooklyn-Pipeline-demographics_1-1030x420.jpg)
New Yorkers mount resistance against North Brooklyn Pipeline
![Map of New 2020 Fracking Permits in California](https://www.fractracker.org/a5ej20sjfwe/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Map-of-New-2020-Fracking-Permits-in-California-1030x495.jpg)
California, Back in Frack
![California well pad](https://www.fractracker.org/a5ej20sjfwe/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/California-well-pad-1030x458.jpg)
California Setback Analyses Summary
![Petrochemical development in the Houston, Texas area](https://www.fractracker.org/a5ej20sjfwe/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/HoustonArea_feature-1030x458.jpg)
COVID-19 and the oil & gas industry
![Compressor station within Loyalsock State Forest, PA.](https://www.fractracker.org/a5ej20sjfwe/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Compressor-station-within-Loyalsock-State-Forest-PA-1030x458.jpg)
Air Pollution from Pennsylvania Shale Gas Compressor Stations – REPORT
![](https://www.fractracker.org/a5ej20sjfwe/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/New-York-State-Oil-Gas-Well-Viewer-2020-1030x633.jpg)
New York State Oil & Gas Wells – 2020 Update
![Truck on Dirt Road](https://www.fractracker.org/a5ej20sjfwe/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/TruckFeatureImage-1030x457.jpg)
![](https://www.fractracker.org/a5ej20sjfwe/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/National-map-feature-3.png)
National Energy and Petrochemical Map
![California Governor Gavin Newsom looks at surface expression oil spills](https://www.fractracker.org/a5ej20sjfwe/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/California-Governor-Gavin-Newsom--1030x457.jpg)
Governor Newsom Must Do More to Address the Cause of Oil Spill Surface Expressions
![Governor Newsom Well Watch website for California drilling](https://www.fractracker.org/a5ej20sjfwe/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/Screen-Shot-2020-02-21-at-2.22.05-PM-1030x463.png)
Oil & Gas Well Permits Issued By Newsom Administration Rival Those Issued Under Gov. Jerry Brown
![destroyed home following pipeline explosion in San Bruno, CA](https://www.fractracker.org/a5ej20sjfwe/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/San-Bruno-Aftermath-feature-image.png)
Pipelines Continue to Catch Fire and Explode
![Overhead view of injection well](https://www.fractracker.org/a5ej20sjfwe/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/Brookfield-1030x458.jpg)
The Hidden Inefficiencies and Environmental Costs of Fracking in Ohio
![](https://www.fractracker.org/a5ej20sjfwe/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/PA-2019-Fracked-Gas-Production-Feature-1030x458.jpg)
Fracking in Pennsylvania: Not Worth It
![Captina Creek Watershed Feature](https://www.fractracker.org/a5ej20sjfwe/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Captina-Creek-Watershed-Feature-1030x457.jpg)
Fracking Threatens Ohio’s Captina Creek Watershed
![Fracking Drilling rig in Washington County, Pennsylvania](https://www.fractracker.org/a5ej20sjfwe/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/drilling-rig-1030x458.jpg)
Allegheny County Air Quality Monitoring Project
![](https://www.fractracker.org/a5ej20sjfwe/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/Newsom-Well-Watch-Feature-1030x458.jpg)
![](https://www.fractracker.org/a5ej20sjfwe/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/Oil-and-gas-drilling-in-ND.-Photo-by-Nick-Lund-NPCA-2014-feature-1030x458.jpg)
How State Regulations Hold Us back and What Other Countries are doing about Fracking
![](https://www.fractracker.org/a5ej20sjfwe/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/waste-disposal-site-feature-1030x458.jpg)
Want Not, Waste Not? Fossil Fuel Extraction’s Waste Disposal Challenges
![](https://www.fractracker.org/a5ej20sjfwe/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/tree-feature-1030x458.jpg)
Fair Shake Environmental Legal Services
![](https://www.fractracker.org/a5ej20sjfwe/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/2018-NYS-Oil-and-Gas-Wells-feature-image-2-1030x458.jpg)
New Method for Locating Abandoned Oil and Gas Wells is Tested in New York State
![Ohio Secret Fracking Chemicals Report](https://www.fractracker.org/a5ej20sjfwe/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/OHSecretChem-797x1030.png)
![](https://www.fractracker.org/a5ej20sjfwe/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Abandoned-wells-PA-feature-1030x458.png)
Abandoned Wells in Pennsylvania: We’re Not Doing Enough
![](https://www.fractracker.org/a5ej20sjfwe/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/DSC_0624_LowRes-1030x674.jpg)
![](https://www.fractracker.org/a5ej20sjfwe/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Cracker-Plant-2-1030x469.jpg)
The Underlying Politics and Unconventional Well Fundamentals of an Appalachian Storage Hub
![](https://www.fractracker.org/a5ej20sjfwe/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/inglewood-field-ca-feature-1-1030x458.jpg)
Permitting New Oil and Gas Wells Under the Newsom Administration
![](https://www.fractracker.org/a5ej20sjfwe/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Beaver-Cracker-Plant-Feature-1030x458.jpg)
Mapping the Petrochemical Build-Out Along the Ohio River
![Urban Drilling in Los Angeles](https://www.fractracker.org/a5ej20sjfwe/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/SignalHill_DavidMcNew_GettyImages_edit.jpg)
Impact of a 2,500′ Oil and Gas Well Setback in California
![](https://www.fractracker.org/a5ej20sjfwe/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/well-house-swpa-ehp-1030x458.jpg)
Pennsylvanians Demand a Response to Rare Cancer Cases, Other Health Impacts
![](https://www.fractracker.org/a5ej20sjfwe/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/Washington-County-Rig-2-1030x458.jpg)
Production and Location Trends in PA: A Moving Target
![](https://www.fractracker.org/a5ej20sjfwe/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/DrillingNearSchoolCA-1.jpg)
Who Pays? Health and Economic Impacts of Fracking in Pennsylvania
![](https://www.fractracker.org/a5ej20sjfwe/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Plastic-Climate-1.png)
The Hidden Costs of a Plastic Planet
![](https://www.fractracker.org/a5ej20sjfwe/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/PipelineConstructionFeature-1030x458.png)
The Falcon Public Monitoring Project
![](https://www.fractracker.org/a5ej20sjfwe/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/YouAreHereMap2-1030x458.png)
Release: The 2019 You Are Here map launches, showing New York’s hurdles to climate leadership
![https://www.kvpr.org/post/dormant-risky-new-state-law-aims-prevent-problems-idle-oil-and-gas-wells](https://www.fractracker.org/a5ej20sjfwe/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/IdleWellsHathaway_resize.jpg)
Idle Wells are a Major Risk
![DOGGR](https://www.fractracker.org/a5ej20sjfwe/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/chevron-surface-expression_resize.jpg)
Literally Millions of Failing, Abandoned Wells
![](https://www.fractracker.org/a5ej20sjfwe/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/KSOKNE-Injection-Wells-1030x458.png)
Wicked Witch of the Waste
![](https://www.fractracker.org/a5ej20sjfwe/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/PipelineConstructionPA.png)
The Growing Web of Oil and Gas Pipelines
![destroyed home following pipeline explosion in San Bruno, CA](https://www.fractracker.org/a5ej20sjfwe/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/San-Bruno-Aftermath-feature-image.png)
Unnatural Disasters
![](https://www.fractracker.org/a5ej20sjfwe/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/SWD_PA2-1030x458.png)
Getting Rid of All of that Waste – Increasing Use of Oil and Gas Injection Wells in Pennsylvania
![Bird's eye view of an injection well (oil and gas waste disposal)](https://www.fractracker.org/a5ej20sjfwe/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/InjectionWell-Sky-Feature.jpg)
A Disturbing Tale of Diminishing Returns in Ohio
![](https://www.fractracker.org/a5ej20sjfwe/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/UncWellsPerYear_2005_2018-1030x682.png)
Pennsylvania Drilling Trends in 2018
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Very informative post, the interactive map sure brings out the picture quite clearly. Thanks for explaining in such detail.