The news signals a deep and ongoing commitment among Ohio politicians and the federal government to inextricably tie the state’s public (and private) land to fossil fuel production and infrastructure.
The BLM’s stance manages to shoe-horn the word “sustainable” twice into its public explanation: “The oil and gas leasing program managed by the BLM encourages the sustainable development of domestic oil and gas reserves which reduces the dependence of the United States on foreign sources of energy as part of its multiple-use and sustainable yield mandate.”
Still, though, the impending loss of acres in Ohio’s only national forest (distinct from a national park) has prompted environmental advocacy groups across the state to fight back.
“This fall, we’ve been continuing to try and educate the public and influence the forest supervisor, Kathleen Atkinson,” says Heather Cantino, member of the Athens County Fracking Action Network, one of the most active groups working against drilling in southeast Ohio.
Based on recent BLM auctions, an acre of federal public land can sell for as little as $1.50. But average U.S. residents can’t just sign in and bid on these acres; these properties are meant only for private mineral extraction. (“There are very stiff penalties now for trying to lease when you do not intend to actually extract the oil and gas,” Cantino says.) Environmental advocates have successfully placed bids in other federal auctions, only to have their leases revoked. A Utah man spent 21 months in prison for placing the winning bids on 14 parcels of land in that state.
The concerns don’t end on auction day, however.
The idea, also, is that the lease rights will open up access to private land in the vicinity — access to mineral rights that will now be easier for energy companies to negotiate. (Fracking companies need contiguous access to get at specific underground natural gas supplies. The process is also known as “horizontal drilling,” so one might easily imagine how vast swaths of shale can be reached from one particular drilling location.) “Those are cumulative impacts that are not addressed at all in the EA [environmental assessment],” Cantino says of the scope of this inevitable drilling.
In 2011, then-forest supervisor Anne Carey pulled more than 3,000 Wayne National Forest acres from an upcoming auction. It remains unlikely that current leadership will follow that example. “This will provide us an opportunity to study the surface impacts associated with this deep drilling and see if the surface impacts will be within the zone of what we analyzed for impacts for oil and gas,” she told the Ironton tribune in 2011. “This deep drilling is new technology that wasn’t on the horizon when we did our forest plan in 2006.”
Those acres were not returned to the auction block until this year.
A change.org petition currently boasts some 97,000 signatures of people opposed to this auction.
This article appears in Nov 30 – Dec 6, 2016.
This is disgusting and sad. BLM & NPS should be viewed as sacred ground. The tax-paying officials working in these offices should not be pursuing private-public deals of this nature.
Not everything in life is supposed to make money. NPS & BLM land should not be abused or subjugated by a profit-motive theology.
When you abbreviate something you should let the readers know you will be abbreviating it, after the first time you spell it out. Bureau of Land Managment (BLM). Please and thank you.
Official Sarah Palin “Drill, Baby, Drill!” T-shirts, buttons, sweatshirts and caps will also be for sale on the auction webpage.
There is a Rally in front of Sherrod Brown’s office (200 N High St) this Thursday Dec 8th, at 11:30am. It is part of our never-ending search for Sherrod Brown…where has he been? Wherever he has been, it certainly hasn’t been working on protecting Ohio’s wild landscapes and public forests. Bring signs, the theme is Ohio’s wildlife.
There is also a protest scheduled for Dec 10th, at 9 am, in front of the Athens Ranger Station (13700 US-33, Nelsonville, OH 45764). This is a peaceful protest. Bring instruments, art, posters- anything to show your love for Wayne National Forest. Some people will be camping over, bring tent/gear if you intend to stay until Dec 13th.
You can also call/email Kathleen Atkinson, Sherrod Brown, Bureau of Land Management (BLM) & Department of Interior (DOI).
Join us in support- protect Wayne National Forest! Check our facebook pages for more information #savethewayne, #keepwaynewild
what fucking idiot thought that a national forest was the perfect spot for fracking?
It’s almost as if our Government, the banksters, and the oil thugs are trying to destroy our planet as quickly as they possibly can. NASA has already stated that ANY new oil development puts all our lives at extreme risk. There’s also an oil GLUT; not enough buyers, and tankers full of the crap are lined up outside of Singapore and offshore in Norway. Google it! We have the tech to get off the stuff and save ourselves hundreds of billions in the process. But NO; destroying our planet in the next decade is so much more important!
We are ruled by psychopaths. Stand up to them!
As some who owns and drives an electric car – they are great! Simple and dependable. 1/3 the parts vs combustion engine.
We would all be driving them if it didn’t mean that powerful people lose an industry.
Such a terrible idea. Public lands are set aside for public benefits that are hard to find privately (e.g., tens of thousands of contiguous acres of forest that don’t have a giant fracking well shooting up from the middle). Please also note that the Forest Service is managed by the Dept. of Agriculture. Direct concerns at them, as well, not just the BLM/DoI.
Hey, America wake up! You don’t run your country anymore, the big corporations do. And you handed it to them. Enjoy idiots!