Wayne National Forest leases sold to fracking industry for $11 million

Oil and gas companies from Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, and Texas have paid $11 million in lease payments to the federal government for the right to conduct fracking operations in Ohio’s Wayne National Forest. The sale includes 41 plots covering approximately 2,800 acres of forestland.

The lease sale follows a decade of efforts by multiple presidential administrations to expand energy exploration in the area, alongside legal challenges from environmental groups. The U.S. Bureau of Land Management stated that the move is intended to increase domestic energy production and strengthen U.S. energy security by making development more economically attractive.

Under legislation supported by President Donald Trump, the legal minimum for royalty payments was reduced from 16.67% to 12.5%. Environmental organizations, including the Center for Biological Diversity, have opposed the leases, citing potential harm to wildlife and plants within the protected forest and concerns regarding financial dependence on fossil fuels.