Feds advance plan to open 2,800 acres of Ohio’s Wayne National Forest to fracking
The sale covers 41 parcels and could bring fracking to the forest for the first time, pending remaining federal permits.
- On Friday, the Bureau of Land Management announced a lease sale scheduled for Sept. 15 of 41 parcels totaling 2,840 acres in Wayne National Forest, bringing fracking to the forest for the first time.
- GOP President Donald Trump's administration has aggressively pursued opening public lands to energy development, including efforts in Alaska and Utah while rolling back procedural timelines around lease sales.
- Mike Chadsey, a spokesman for the Ohio Oil and Gas Association, said the process is "deliberate, transparent, and built on years of environmental review," while a 30-day public protest period opened today and closes August 17, 2026.
- Wendy Park, an attorney with the Center for Biological Diversity, argued that fracking threatens wildlife, including the Indiana bat, and would introduce light pollution, noise, and truck traffic into the recreational area.
- Meanwhile, the state of Ohio has opened about 22,000 acres of its state parks and wildlife areas to oil and gas companies since 2024; the Wayne leases sit near Marietta and Parkersburg, West Virginia.
21 Articles
21 Articles
Ohio's National Forest That Much Closer to Fracking
Wayne National Forest, located in southeast Ohio, will likely see fracking opportunities thanks to a lease sale recently announced by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management. According to Signal Ohio, the lease sale scheduled for Sept. 15 includes 41 parcels of land totaling 2,840 acres. The BLM announcement makes it that much more likely that...
Associated Press News
Feds advance plan to open 2,800 acres of Ohio’s Wayne National Forest to fracking
The U.S.
BLM to hold Sept. sale of oil and gas leases in Wayne National Forest
FALLS CHURCH, Virginia – The Bureau of Land Management today announced an oil and gas lease sale scheduled for September 15, 2026, to offer 41 oil and gas parcels totaling 2,840 acres in the Wayne National Forest, located in southeastern Ohio. The BLM completed scoping on these parcels in January 2026 and held a public comment period that closed in June 2026 on the parcels and the related environmental analysis. A 30-day public protest period t…
Feds advance plan to open 2,800 acres of Ohio’s Wayne National Forest to fracking - WXXV News 25
By JAKE ZUCKERMAN/Signal Ohio The federal government took a major step forward Friday toward opening more than 2,800 acres of Ohio’s only national forest to oil and gas development. The U.S. Bureau of Land Management announced a lease sale scheduled for Sept. 15 of 41 parcels of land in the Wayne National Forest totaling 2,840 acres. Although some bureaucratic hurdles remain, a lease sale brings fracking the forest for the first time – the sub…
Coverage Details
Bias Distribution
- 45% of the sources lean Left, 44% of the sources are Center
Factuality
To view factuality data please Upgrade to Premium
