Federal government will put 2,840 acres of Ohio’s only national forest out to bid for fracking

“Leasing is the first step in the process to develop federal oil and gas resources. Before development operations can begin, an operator must submit an application for permit to drill detailing development plans,” the Bureau of Land Management said in a statement.

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“The BLM reviews applications for permits to drill, posts them for public review, conducts an environmental analysis and coordinates with state partners and stakeholders.”

Fracking is the process of injecting liquid into the ground at a high pressure to extract oil or gas.

There were approximately 2,000 incidents associated with oil and gas wells in Ohio from 2015-2023, according to FracTracker Alliance, a nonprofit that collects data on fracking pipelines. 

Evidence shows increased exposure to fracking impacts health, in particular children’s health, including low birth weight, preterm births, congenital anomalies, and asthma, according to Yale School of Medicine. 

The Ohio Capital Journal recently published a story about how Washington County residents are concerned injection wells leaking brine waste could contaminate Marietta’s drinking water. 

‘The precipice of an emergency.’ Marietta residents worry drinking water could become contaminated.

Ohio Environmental Council Senior Attorney for Land and Water Nathan Johnson said putting out bids to frack Wayne National Forest is concerning. 

“It’s unfortunate that the feds keep trying to push this,” he said. “We really need to take good care of our public lands.”

The BLM’s overall plan is to lease out 40,000 acres for fracking in Wayne National Forest, Johnson said. 

 “That’s a huge amount of land for Ohio,” he said. “That’s more than 30,000 football fields.”

As required by law, the BLM is currently in the middle of a 30-day public protest to receive additional comments which will end Aug. 17. The BLM scoped out the 41 parcels in January.

Ohio state Rep. Tristan Rader, D-Lakewood, urged people to post comments.  

“This is just continued exploitation of the people and resources of Ohio by large corporations,” Rader said in a statement. “For generations, the people of this region and this state have been sidelined by the interest of extractive industries.” 

The Wayne National Forest was established in 1935 and comprises 244,000 acres spanning 12 counties with three units in Athens, Ironton, and Marietta in Southeast Ohio.

More than 200,000 people annually visit Wayne National Forest, which is known for its hiking, biking, horseback riding trails, and off-road vehicle trails. 

“If development occurs on this scale … you’re going to have heavy truck traffic,” Johnson said.

“You’re going to see well paths. One of the the major concerns if you’re visiting the area is health, safety, truck traffic, but the air pollution is just always a constant. It does not respect boundaries.”

There are already 1,200 conventional wells operating in Wayne National Forest, Ohio Oil and Gas Association spokesperson Mike Chadsey noted.

But Johnson said there are very big differences between the two.

“This project, it’s all shale development with these huge, massive well pads, massive pipeline developments,” Johnson said. “So totally different ball game than what the Wayne has seen in the past with these much smaller operations.”

A national forest is managed by the U.S. Forest Service under the Department of Agriculture and blends conservation with public service and resource extraction like logging and mining. 

A national park is managed by the National Park Service under the U.S. Department of Interior and the goal is to protect and preserve natural lands in their natural state.

Ohio has one national park, Cuyahoga Valley National Park in Northeast Ohio. 

Follow Ohio Capital Journal Reporter Megan Henry on X or on Bluesky.

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