Federal Lease Sale Targets Ohio’s Wayne National Forest for Fracking

The U.S. Bureau of Land Management announced a lease sale slated for Sept. 15, 2026, covering 41 parcels that total 2,840 acres in Wayne National Forest—the state’s only national forest. The parcels, spread across three non-contiguous swaths near Marietta, Ohio, and Parkersburg, West Virginia, would be the first to allow hydraulic fracturing (“fracking”) on federal land in the forest. A 30-day public comment period began on Aug. 18 and ends Aug. 17, 2026; any winning bidder would still need a BLM drilling permit.

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Wayne National Forest has hosted conventional vertical oil wells since 1990, but modern “unconventional” fracking wells have never been permitted. Efforts to open the forest to fracking date back to at least 2016. The move aligns with the Trump administration’s broader push to open public lands for energy development, including reductions in monument protections in Utah and proposed changes in Alaska. Ohio itself has already opened roughly 22,000 acres of state parks and wildlife areas to oil and gas drilling under GOP-backed legislation passed in 2024.

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Mike Chadsey, spokesman for the Ohio Oil and Gas Association, described the proposed wells as “unconventional” and deeper than existing vertical wells. He characterized the leasing process as “deliberate, transparent, and built on years of environmental review” and emphasized Ohio’s “long track record of producing oil and natural gas safely and responsibly,” arguing that responsible development can coexist with environmental stewardship. Chadsey also noted that leasing federal minerals could help adjacent landowners realize the full economic potential of their property.

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Wendy Park, an attorney with the Center for Biological Diversity, warned that fracking threatens wildlife such as the endangered Indiana bat and would bring light, noise, and truck traffic to a recreational area. She questioned whether any part of Ohio remains free from fracking impacts.

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• “Is there no place left in Ohio that’s safe from fracking?” — Wendy Park, Attorney, Center for Biological Diversity

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• “Almost every corner of Ohio, except the Wayne, has been fracked.” — Wendy Park, Attorney, Center for Biological Diversity

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• “unconventional” wells, which run far deeper and extend laterally to enable modern fracking techniques, would be new in the Wayne. — Mike Chadsey, Spokesman, Ohio Oil and Gas Association

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• “deliberate, transparent, and built on years of environmental review” — Ohio Oil and Gas Association spokesman

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• “Ohio has a long track record of producing oil and natural gas safely and responsibly, demonstrating that responsible energy development and environmental stewardship can go hand in hand,” — Ohio Oil and Gas Association spokesman

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• “Additionally, due to the Wayne’s patchwork of parcels, leasing federal minerals helps those landowner/mineral owners who are adjacent to the Wayne realize the full economic potential of their property.” — Ohio Oil and Gas Association spokesman

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