HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania will open nearly 32,000 acres of additional state forest land to leasing by gas drilling companies, the state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources said Monday.

The six tracts are located in the Elk, Moshannon, Sproul, Susquehannock and Tioga state forests in Cameron, Clearfield, Clinton, Potter and Tioga counties.

In selecting tracts for potential leasing, officials consider not only recommendations from drilling companies but environmental and aesthetic issues that may rule out certain areas, officials said.

"Our approach to making state lands available for natural gas drilling has always been to limit the impact on the surface and on other uses of the land," said the head of department, acting Secretary John Quigley. "We've been exceptionally mindful of our obligations as we developed this plan to balance our environmental responsibilities and the budget."

Drilling for natural gas has intensified in regions of Pennsylvania that lie over the potentially lucrative Marcellus Shale formation.

Currently, 660,000 acres of the 2.1 million acres of state forest land are under lease for gas production, the department said.

The 2009-10 state budget requires the department to raise $60 million from a lease sale on state forest land.