Save Ohio Parks and environmental advocates warn against expanding frack leases under Ohio state parks and public lands

Impaired health from methane emissions, water contamination are concerns

COLUMBUS, Ohio, Jan. 13, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Environmental advocates and Ohioans converged in Columbus on Monday to call out the environmental havoc that extending lease terms to frack Ohio's state parks and public lands will cause Ohio's air, water, soils, biodiversity—and future generations.

Save Ohio Parks; Freshwater Accountability Project; Buckeye Environmental Network; and Third Act Ohio were among environmental groups speaking to Oil and Gas Land Management Commissioners directly for the first time allowed them in three years about the myriad of dangers that await the state as it expands natural gas fracking under Ohio's state parks and public lands.

They had a lot to say.

Topics included:

• The undemocratic legislative process used to pass the state law that mandates fracking Ohio public lands;
• Potential drinking water contamination in Washington County, Ohio, where injection wells storing toxic, radioactive gas and oil wastes are communicating with conventional oil wells, threatening rural drinking water wells and groundwater;
• Fracking and injection well-caused earthquakes;
• Destruction of biodiversity and habitat from fracking that could cause the extinctions of endangered Indiana bats, eastern hellbenders and eastern black bears;
• Methane gas emissions from natural gas production and utility use that cause rare cancers in young children, increase respiratory disease and accelerate climate warming and climate change.

Speakers peppered their testimony with personal stories, research, statistics and emotions ranging from anger to appeals to love the planet and future generations of young people.

But expressionless members of the Ohio Oil and Gas Land Management Commissioners asked no questions and unanimously voted 4-0 to award Grenadier Energy III LLC of The Woodlands, Texas rights to frack 171 acres of Leesville Wildlife Area in Carroll County. Commissioners accepted $6,000 per acre, or $1 M, plus a 12.5 percent royalty and 5.5 percent of production as an additional financial incentive.

Commissioners also rubberstamped nominations 4-0 in repeated votes to advance bidding next quarter on more than 4,726 acres to frack Egypt Valley Wildlife Area in Belmont County and 1,842 acres in Jockey Hollow Wildlife Area in Belmont and Harrison counties. They also advanced to bid in the next quarter eight acres across the street from the Noble County Correctional Institution in Noble County and 11 rights-of-way along state highways.

The wildlife areas targeted are popular hunting, fishing, hiking and birding areas re-claimed by conservation groups from coal mining over the past 30 or more years.

In a move many environmentalists and the public consider a sell-out to the gas and oil industry, the Ohio state legislature and Gov. Mike DeWine made the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) dependent on fracking for half of its state parks budget beginning in 2027.

Save Ohio Parks organized a 30-member coalition in early 2025 calling for Gov. Mike DeWine to declare a statewide moratorium on fracking Ohio's state parks and public lands. DeWine has refused to meet with them or discuss the issue despite more than 7,000 public comments uploaded to the OGLMC website against fracking public lands.

Typically, 98 percent of comments uploaded onto the OGLMC website oppose fracking Ohio public lands.

Save Ohio Parks was formed in 2023, after 135 pages of last-minute amendments were tacked onto H.B. 507, a bill originally created to limit the number of poultry chicks allowed in a shipment. The bill passed into law during a lame duck session.

It falsely defined polluting fracked gas (ie: natural gas) a "green energy" and mandated fracking under state parks and public lands. It was one of the first bills DeWine signed into law after his re-election as governor.

DeWine's campaign was aided by a $500,000 FirstEnergy donation to State Solutions, a dark-money group connected to the Republican Governors Association.

Leatra Harper, director of Freshwater Accountability Project and an advocate for fresh water since 2012, said the magnitude of environmental and public health damage from fracking is already evident and will likely only get worse as the negative impacts of fracking increase.

"The state of Ohio's lack of adequate regulation and oversight has never addressed the cumulative contamination impacts of this industry, which are compounded by the negative impacts of methane emissions warming the atmosphere and accelerating climate change; toxic, radioactive brine-spreading on roads; and gas and oil well pad explosions," she said.

"We who follow the science know that pollution from fracking is definitely affecting the health of our children and grandchildren here in Ohio," said Judy Smucker of Third Act Ohio. "Especially here in Ohio, where we are now known as the dumping ground of America-- the dumping ground for other states to come and add their fracking forever- chemicals into Ohio injection wells."

Melinda Zemper of Save Ohio Parks said she received what she considers inadvertent advice from ODNR director Mary Mertz last summer following a roundtable discussion Mertz participated in at an environmental education conference for children.

"Ms. Mertz told me that if we wanted change regarding fracking our state parks and public lands, we needed to change the state legislature," said Zemper. "I think she's right. We need legislators in power in all offices, from local township officials to city council members, to county commissioners, state reps and senators on up to the governor's office who commit to protecting clean air, water, soils, and biodiversity throughout the state, as well as in and under our public lands.

"We are at the very beginning of an existential global climate crisis and must use all technology and renewable energy solutions available to reduce carbon emissions and enjoy cleaner water, decent air and healthy soils. Ohioans need pristine nature in our state parks and wildlife areas, and to be convinced to want to remain living in Ohio.

"The science is clear, no matter what supermajority politicians may say: fossil fuels and fracking need to be phased out quickly and cheap, reliable, renewable energy ramped up quickly in order to mitigate the worst effects of climate change."

No other state in the country allows fracking of its state parks, said Cathy Cowan Becker, board president at Save Ohio Parks. "Our parks and wildlife areas were set aside for the use and enjoyment of all Ohioans. These lands are meant to be protected. Fracking them is a betrayal of the public trust and future generations."

Save Ohio Parks offers virtual and in-person community presentations on the facts about fracking. Visit https://www.saveohioparks.org or email [email protected] for more information.     

Contact: Rachel Kutzley
Email: [email protected]
Phone: (703) 200-2268

SOURCE Save Ohio Parks