Ohio opened 22,000 acres of state lands to drilling since 2024
The U.S. Bureau of Land Management on Friday announced a lease sale scheduled for Sept. 15 of 41 parcels in Ohio’s Wayne National Forest, totaling 2,840 acres, according to the Associated Press. The sale would open the forest to oil and gas development for the first time, the culmination of political efforts dating to at least 2016.
Although some bureaucratic hurdles remain, the lease sale grants specific companies legal rights to the land and minerals beneath it, marking a significant step toward fracking in the forest. The Wayne National Forest is not a single contiguous tract but three separate swaths across southeast Ohio. The leases for sale sit near Marietta, Ohio, and Parkersburg, West Virginia.
Friday’s announcement comes as President Donald Trump’s administration has pursued opening public land to the energy industry. The administration has shrunk national monuments in Utah to allow for oil and gas development, according to the AP, and is reportedly pursuing similar steps in Alaska. The administration has also rolled back rules around bond requirements, public comments and procedural timelines for lease sales.
At the state level, Ohio has opened about 22,000 acres of its state parks and wildlife areas to oil and gas companies since 2024, via recently passed Republican-backed legislation, the AP reported. The federal and state actions both involve opening land to oil and gas development.