Nearly 3,000 acres of Ohio’s only national forest were leased this week for more than $11 million by the Bureau of Land Management to out-of-state companies for fracking. 

The BLM auctioned off 40 parcels in Monroe and Washington counties totaling 2,776 acres in Wayne National Forest for $11.09 million during a quarterly oil and gas lease sale. 

“Leasing is the first step in the process to develop federal oil and gas resources,” BLM said in a statement. 

“The BLM ensures oil and gas development meets the requirements set forth by the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 and other applicable legal authorities. Oil and gas leases are awarded for a term of 10 years and as long thereafter as there is production of oil and gas in paying quantities.” 

These are the companies that are leasing the parcels:

  • Pennsylvania-based Apex Energy Operating III LLC leased 25 parcels for $7.97 million. 

  • Texas-based R&R Royalty LTD leased six parcels for $864,234.

  • Oklahoma-based Gulfport Appalachia LLC leased five parcels for $1.98 million. 

  • Texas-based Texas Independent Exploration Limited leased three parcels for $241,559. 

  • Pennsylvania-based Ohio Gasco LLC leased one parcel for $25,769. 

The BLM scoped out the parcels in January and announced the auction in July. 

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

Nathan Johnson, senior attorney for the Ohio Environmental Council, said the lease sale violates important environmental laws meant to protect endangered wildlife and the quality of the environment.

“The Wayne is Ohio’s only National Forest and one of the state’s best places for outdoor recreation,” Johnson said. “Fracking the Wayne will pollute the air, harm local streams, and industrialize the landscape. We are preparing to challenge yesterday’s leasing in federal court.”

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

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

Spending by visitors to the Wayne National Forest is about $7.4 million annually, according to the United States Forest Service. 

This is the first lease sale in Wayne National Forest since March 2017 when 20 parcels in Monroe County were auctioned off.  

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. 

Wayne National Forest already has 1,200 conventional wells, but the BLM predicts new wells drilled in the Wayne will be horizontal, hydraulic fracturing natural-gas wells. 

There were approximately 2,000 incidents associated with oil and gas wells in Ohio from 2015-2023 — including 98 incidents in Monroe County and 85 incidents in Washington counties, according to FracTracker Alliance, a nonprofit that collects data on fracking pipelines. 

Washington County residents have been raising concerns that injection wells leaking brine waste could contaminate Marietta’s drinking water. 

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. 

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This story is republished from the Ohio Capital Journal under a Creative Commons license. View the original article.