OXFORD – Rumors of a local land coalition losing out on a $70 million lease because the natural gas company feared drilling would be banned in New York are prompting land owners and other pro-drillers to rally in Albany.

“Sign up to rally in Albany or kiss N.Y. natural gas exploration goodbye,” stated Oxford Land Group President Bryant Latourette in a press release issued last night. Though Latourette was unavailable for comment this morning, the leader of the Central New York Landowners Coalition, Richard Lasky, confirmed that the lost lease was “local.”

“I heard that the company didn’t think it was a good idea to invest money in New York State where they might not be able to drill,” Lasky said.

The two coalitions, along with about 28 other Southern Tier landowner coalitions, anticipate being well represented at the January 25 rally in Albany.

But they won’t be without competition.

On the same day, environmentalist groups from the Upper Delaware Basin Watershed, the Delaware and Susquehanna River Systems, the Catskill Forest Preserve and the New York City Watershed are also planning to rally in the state’s capital. The groups will demand that Governor Paterson delay the rush to drill in the Catskills, Central New York and the Southern Tier.