We were part of the Smith Goshen Group Lease with Rice that expires in approximately one year.  Rice sold my lease to Ascent about a year ago.  Got a call this week from  Purple Mountain Land Management saying he was working with a group that includes Rice, Ascent and XTL wanting  enter into new leases right away, not wait for the expiration.  He offered $500 an acre per year on one-year leases with options to renew each year for a 5 year period.  Does anyone else know about this?  The money comes out just short of the original lease if it went for 5 years but obviously the terms and conditions are not nearly as good for the owner as in the original 5-year lease.  Since we all expire at about the same time, is there any group effort underway, similar to what we did 4 years ago?  Note, my land is not in Smith or Goshen townships but rather in Pease. Is this more the norm now or should I be holding out for something more akin to the old lease?