May, 02 2017, 11:45am EDT

For Immediate Release
Contact:
Taylor McKinnon, Center for Biological Diversity, (801) 300-2414, tmckinnon@biologicaldiversity.org
Nathan Johnson, Ohio Environmental Council, (614) 487-5841, NJohnson@theOEC.org
Tabitha Tripp, Heartwood, (812) 307-4326, info@heartwood.org
Loraine McCosker, Ohio Sierra Club, (740) 590-8474, loraine.mccosker@gmail.com
Lawsuit Challenges Fracking Plan for Ohio's Only National Forest
Feds Overlook Danger to Wildlife, Watersheds, Ohio River
COLUMBUS, Ohio
Conservation groups today sued the U.S. Forest Service and U.S. Bureau of Land Management over plans to permit hydraulic fracturing (fracking) in Ohio's only national forest, the Wayne. The lawsuit aims to void BLM leases and halt fracking in the national forest.
Today's lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Columbus, charges that the agencies failed to analyze threats to public health, endangered species and the climate before auctioning off more than 670 acres of forest land for large-scale, high-volume fracking.
"We're suing to stop this dangerous fracking plan because drinking water safety and public lands should come before corporate profits," said Taylor McKinnon at the Center for Biological Diversity. "The Ohio and Little Muskingum rivers provide precious water to millions of people in Ohio and downstream states. Pollution from fracking would be disastrous for the people who depend on this water."
In the lawsuit the conservation groups note that the agencies violated the National Environmental Policy Act by approving oil and gas leases without addressing risks to watersheds, public health, climate and endangered species, including Indiana bats.
Fracking will industrialize Ohio's only national forest with roads, well pads and gas lines, the lawsuit asserts. This infrastructure would destroy Indiana bat habitat, pollute watersheds and water supplies that support millions of people, and endanger other federally protected species in the area.
The lawsuit challenges a December 2016 BLM auction of more than 670 acres of public land in the Wayne National Forest's Marietta Unit in southeast Ohio, arguing that the agency relied on outdated plans in approving the leases.
Many of the parcels sold in the most recent lease auctions are near or along these rivers.
"We filed this lawsuit because the Wayne is an important natural resource for all Ohioans," said Nathan Johnson, public lands director for the Ohio Environmental Council. "We won't let the Wayne be trashed by pipelines and frack pads. The law is on our side, and this public forest is worth fighting for."
In 2014 a well pad caught fire in Monroe County, resulting in the contamination of a creek near the national forest. Wastewater and fracking chemicals spilled into Opossum Creek -- an Ohio River tributary -- killing 70,000 fish over a five-mile stretch.
"The Wayne National Forest is already so small and fragmented, but it's all Ohioans have left," said Tabitha Tripp with Heartwood. "We will fight like hell to protect it and the waters that run through it."
The groups have also filed an appeal with Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke challenging the most recent March 2017 lease sale. And they've filed two 60-day notices of intent to sue the agencies for violating the Endangered Species Act. The Endangered Species Act claims will be ready for litigation in June.
"There's no escaping the truth about what fracking will do to Wayne National Forest. Quite simply, it will destroy it," said Jen Miller, Ohio Sierra Club director. "Rather than permitting the destruction of our only national forest, we must continue to fuel the transition to clean, renewable energy which protects our wild places and creates jobs here in Ohio."
The BLM intends to lease 40,000 more acres of the Wayne National Forest's Marietta Unit, setting up two-thirds of the unit to be auctioned off in upcoming quarterly BLM lease sales.
The lawsuit is available online, along with a map showing areas already leased or headed for auction. Photos of Wayne National Forest are also available.
Download a copy of today's complaint here.
Download a map of Wayne National Forest fracking plans here.
Images of the Wayne National Forest are available for media use here.
Download a factsheet about Wayne National Forest fracking here.
At the Center for Biological Diversity, we believe that the welfare of human beings is deeply linked to nature — to the existence in our world of a vast diversity of wild animals and plants. Because diversity has intrinsic value, and because its loss impoverishes society, we work to secure a future for all species, great and small, hovering on the brink of extinction. We do so through science, law and creative media, with a focus on protecting the lands, waters and climate that species need to survive.
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A newlywed Palestinian woman from Texas released from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention earlier this week says she was shackled for long periods, denied food and water, and subjected to other human rights abuses during nearly five months in ICE custody—all because she is a stateless person.
Ward Sakeik, 22, was born in Saudi Arabia to Palestinian parents from Gaza. Because Saudi Arabia does not grant birthright citizenship to the children of foreign nationals, Sakeik was officially stateless when her family legally emigrated to the United States when she was 8 years old.
“I was moved around like cattle.”
Ward Sakeik, US college graduate and homeowner, speaks out following 140 days in ICE hellhole pic.twitter.com/bNTgs7362h
— World Socialist Web Site (@WSWS_Updates) July 5, 2025
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Sakeik said unhygienic conditions at the Prairieland Detention Center in Alvarado, Texas—where an ICE officer was shot in the neck during a Friday evening attack—caused widespread illness among detainees.
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It’s hard to make the Texas flood tragedy worse, except to know that on the same day Trump signed a bill to stop our efforts to defeat the climate change that is causing increased frequency of disastrous floods. And giving us more expensive electricity. www.nytimes.com/2025/07/05/c...
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— Governor Jay Inslee (@govjayinslee.bsky.social) July 5, 2025 at 9:29 AM
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Metropolitan Police arrested at least 27 protesters who gathered in central London on Saturday to publicly support Palestine Action, a nonviolent direct action group now officially designated a terrorist organization by the U.K. government.
According to Middle East Eye, Palestine defenders including 83-year-old Rev. Sue Parfitt, a former government attorney, an emeritus professor, and health workers gathered by a statue of Mahatma Gandhi in Parliament Square, where they held signs reading, "I OPPOSE GENOCIDE, I SUPPORT PALESTINE ACTION."
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"If we cannot speak freely about the genocide that is occurring... democracy and human rights in this country are dead."
"We would like to alert you to the fact we may be committing offenses under the Terrorism Act tomorrow, Saturday 5 July, in Parliament Square at about 1pm," the group said in an open letter to Met Commissioner Mark Rowley.
"If we cannot speak freely about the genocide that is occurring, if we cannot condemn those who are complicit in it and express support for those who resist it, then the right to freedom of expression has no meaning, and democracy and human rights in this country are dead," the letter argues.
Parfitt told Novara Media that members of Defend Our Juries were "testing the law."
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Members of the group Defend Our Juries publicly declare their opposition to Israel's genocidal assault on Gaza and their support for the proscribed group Palestine Action while Metropolitan Police officers look on before arresting them during a July 4, 2025 demonstration in London. (Photo: Kristian Buus/In Pictures via Getty Images)
In a statement, Defend Our Juries sarcastically said that "we commend the counter-terrorism police for their decisive action in protecting the people of London from some cardboard signs opposing the genocide in Gaza and expressing support for those taking action to prevent it."
"It's a relief to know that counter-terrorism police have nothing better to do," the group quipped.
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The nonviolent group is now on the same legal footing in Britain as Al-Qaeda and Islamic State. Joining or supporting Palestine Action is now punishable by up to 14 years behind bars.
At midnight, Palestine Action will be proscribed under the Terrorism Act.Their real “crime”? Exposing the UK’s role in arming Israel’s genocide.This is a dark day for our democracy.Criminalising non-violent resistance won’t silence the truth.We are all Palestine Action 🇵🇸
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— Zarah Sultana MP (@zarahsultana.bsky.social) July 4, 2025 at 2:38 PM
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