This morning, the Wayne National Forest released a press release stating the “USDA Forest Service has withdrawn over 3000 acres of public lands from a federal oil and gas lease sale scheduled for December 7, 2012.”
Many expected this land to be used for hydraulic fracturing, or “fracking,” which is a process used to extract natural gas from impermeable rock formations. There has been widespread concern about fracking’s potential negative health effects, as well.
“Based on new information and increased public interest on natural gas exploration, especially deep horizontal drilling, the Forest will soon assemble a team of natural resource specialists to do further analysis,” said Anne Carey, the Wayne National Forest Supervisor.
Carey added that the review could take up to six months and will specifically look the effects fracking can have on the surface.
The US Forest Service controls the surface rights in National Forests while the Bureau of Land Management controls the Mineral Rights. Both must give their consent for a lease sale to go forward.
This withdrawal of consent by the Forest Service is a major victory for local anti-fracking activists, who have collected 34 letters of protest from 48 Athens County organizations including Ohio University, Athens County Commissioners, and Athens City Council as well as hundreds of petition signatures opposing fracking coming to the Wayne.
—Will Drabold
