State officials in Ohio are set to decide whether to accept bids or open up 23,000 acres of publicly owned wildlife preserves in eastern Ohio to the fracking industry. The Ohio Oil and Gas Land Management Commission will decide on the matter, which could significantly expand the state’s public lands leasing process.
Background
The state’s leasing process has been dormant since 2011 but was kick-started in 2023 via legislation passed by Republican lawmakers and signed by Gov. Mike DeWine. The commission will consider bids for about 15,000 acres, split between Jockey Hollow and Egypt Valley wildlife areas, and also vote on whether to open another 8,000 acres of Egypt Valley to oil and gas development.
Ohio has already received about $57 million in signing bonuses from the first 7,000 acres leased by the state, mostly via the lease at Salt Fork, one of Ohio’s largest state parks. The state is also set to receive 18% to 20% in royalty payments when extraction begins.
Opposition
Despite near-unanimous opposition in public hearings and written comment periods, the commission has almost always accepted land nominations as they’ve rolled in since 2024. Save Ohio Parks, a grassroots advocacy group of environmentalists in Southeast Ohio, has criticized the process, describing it as a ‘rubber stamp’ and expressing concern over the large amount of land that could be approved for fracking.
Original reporting: Signal Akron — read the source article.
