CITIZEN POWER ALLIANCE

When a representative from an energy company paid a visit to Raurie Skinner's farm offering $1,900 for the rights to search for natural gas under her property, it seemed like her lucky day.

At $50 an acre, she jumped at an easy payday by simply signing the paper, with the possibility of thousands or even millions of dollars more in royalties if drillers extracted gas from under her 38-acre farm in the Town of Kirkwood.

Now, 12 months later, she watches with deep regret as Southern Tier residents sign for $2,500 an acre, and her neighbors hold out as competing offers drive deals even higher.

The natural gas boon bringing six- and seven-figure windfalls to thousands of Southern Tier property owners is a bust for thousands more who signed away rights to their land without knowing much about the riches underneath. Some claim they were mislead or swindled. Others blame their own naiveté.

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