Anti-fracking activists put up signs outside the Ohio Oil and Gas Land Management meeting on Aug. 12 (Photo by Megan Henry, Ohio Capital Journal).

About 62 acres of Leesville Wildlife Area were approved to move forward to bidding for fracking during Monday’s seven minute Ohio Oil and Gas Land Management meeting.

This is about 15% of the total land in Leesville Wildlife Area, which is located in Carroll County. 

“The commission did not consider any ‘highest and best’ bids for the leasing of mineral rights at this meeting, only nominations were considered,” Ohio Department of Natural Resources spokesperson Karina Cheung said in an email. “According to statute, all nominations and bids remain anonymous until the ‘highest and best’ bidder is announced.”

The new OGLMC Chair Theresa White decided to hold off on making a decision about 884 acres of land at Salt Fork State Park in Guernsey County. 

“Going through the comments and the documents submitted for these nominations, I wonder if we might hold off on making determinations on these nominations,” White said. “There were over 360 total comments submitted on these and I would appreciate some more time to weigh the pros and cons before making a decision. … I would like to request that we delay action on these nominations until our next meeting.”

The two other commissioners who were present at the meeting — Jim McGregor and Stephen Buehrer — agreed to wait until the commission’s next meeting. The next meeting has not been scheduled yet. 

Anti-fracking advocates at Monday’s meeting were surprised White and the commissioners decided to delay the Salt Fork decision. 

“I see that as a positive,” Melinda Zemper, with Save Ohio Parks, said after Monday’s meeting. “We don’t know why, but we’re just going to continue trying to educate the people of Ohio about the irrevocable effects that fracking will have on our environment and people’s health and our natural resources. So we’ll be back at the next meeting and beyond.” 

Jenny Morgan, also with Save Ohio Parks, was not as optimistic.  

“Every time they hold off, they just come back and vote yes,” she said after the meeting. “So it didn’t mean anything to me, really. It just means they’ll come back and they’ll vote it in because it just seems like they have the ear of the industry. They haven’t listened to the public.”

Fracking is the process of injecting liquid into the ground at a high pressure to extract oil or gas. It has been documented in over 30 states, according to the Center for Biological Diversity. 

There were more than 1,400 fracking incidents associated with oil and gas wells in Ohio between 2018 and September 2023, according to FracTracker Alliance — a nonprofit that collects data on fracking pipelines. About 10% of those incidents were reported as fires or explosions.

During that same time period, there were 56 total incidents in Guernsey County (where Salt Fork is located), according to FracTracker.

Former OGLMC Chair Ryan Richardson stepped down as chair after the last meeting in August. She is now an attorney at Bricker and Graydon, a Columbus based law firm.

“Chair Richardson is no longer on the commission,” White said at the start of Monday’s meeting. “She recently took a job in the private industry, and we wish her the very best in that new position, and thank her for her service on the Oil and Gas Land Management Commission.”

White is ODNR’s chief operating officer and ODNR Director Mary Mertz appointed White as chair in September. 

Anti-fracking protest

Before Monday’s brief meeting, several Save Ohio Parks volunteers took turns speaking outside the Ohio Department of Public Safety building (where the OGLMC’s meetings are held). 

“Folks commonly say they love taking their kids or grandkids to our state parks, so why on Earth would anyone want to damage these cherished spaces?” Save Ohio Parks volunteer Shannon Flanders asked. “And how will the animals, plants, lakes, and woods survive such harm? … It is absurd to allow out-of-state oil and gas companies to disrupt the outdoor, natural sanctuaries we love in Ohio.” 

Cathy Cowan Becker read comments that were submitted to ODNR about the acres of land in question at Leesville Wildlife Area and Salt Fork State Park.

“As a frequent boater on Leesville Lake and a year round resident of Carroll County, I am firmly opposed to fracking this wildlife area,” Bowan read from a comment that was submitted.

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