BLM Hearing Held in Marietta Nov.17 Regarding Drilling in Wayne National Forest

There are a number of articles published today regarding hearings on drilling on Wayne National Forest properties in SE Ohio.  In the Marietta unit 18,800 acres are under consideration for drilling.

Please read the press release from the Wayne National Forest.    I will be posting links to other articles.

IMHO this is of great importance to landowners in Monroe and Washington counties whose properties border the WNF.  In Monroe county alone 25,000 acres is owned by WNF.

http://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/wayne/news-events/?cid=FSEPRD479167

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Permalink Reply by searcherone on November 4, 2015 at 10:09pm

Athens Ranger District, Marietta Unit, approximately 18,800 acres in Washington County, Townships of Liberty, Lawrence, Grandview, Independence, and Ludlow; and Monroe County, Townships of Green, Jackson, Lee, Perry, Benton, Washington and Wayne.  The meeting will be held at Marietta College, 215 Fifth Street, in the Andrews Hall Great Room 203, 6:30 p.m.-8:30 p.m.

Permalink Reply by searcherone on November 4, 2015 at 10:25pm

http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2015/11/04/feds-consi...

The above article was printed today in the Columbus Dispatch.

http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2011/11/16/fracking-f...

This article from the Columbus Dispatch is from 2011 and tells how drilling on the Wayne National Forest was withdrawn with most of the opposition coming from Athens county in the Athens Unit of the Wayne National Forest as well as environment groups.

Permalink Reply by John on November 5, 2015 at 3:25pm

This is a great outline of what's at stake for landowners: 

http://www.theintelligencer.net/page/content.comment/id/646179/Mine...

It's vitally important that land/mineral owners who live anywhere near the WNF show up at the hearings in Marietta (Nov. 17, 6:30-8:30) and Athens (Nov. 18, 6:30-8:30). The last time we had an opportunity to develop the WNF there were 1000 dissenting voices and literally no landowners -- we cannot, must not, let that happen again. If we do, it will be years before we have another opportunity. Tell your neighbors and friends, call your government officials, show up at public meetings and make your voices heard! 

Permalink Reply by searcherone on November 5, 2015 at 8:07pm

John I  am just reposting your link so that anyone going to this version can read the entire article.  Your link will only allow subscribers to the newspaper.

http://www.theintelligencer.net/page/content.detail/id/646179/Miner...

I totally agree with you that anyone living near the Wayne National Forest needs to attend these meetings as the Bureau of Land Management will be counting numbers of those for the drilling and those against the drilling on the Wayne National Forest lands.   Private property owners this is your opportunity to make your voice heard.   Most of the property in the Monroe and Washington county areas of WNF is located on the old oil and gas field from the early 1900s.   So landowners need to be saying drill this area with the new technologies.   Contact county commissioners, auditors, school superintendents, school board members, township trustees because these groups will benefit from the taxes of drilling.   Contact your neighbors, go to the meetings and make your voice heard.  So far there are only two of us posting in this discussion, where are the rest of you landowners?

Permalink Reply by Puzzled on November 6, 2015 at 3:55pm

so maybe we should get one of the big oil companies to get some buses and provide transport like the political parties do for the voters...after all the anti frackers are well organized

Permalink Reply by searcherone on November 6, 2015 at 10:45pm

Good idea, maybe some of them will read this and get organized.

Grapevine says Eclipse and another unnamed company are mailing letters to their landowners. . .I assume its asking them to be at the meeting in Marietta.   

People need to realize that it is the Marietta Unit of the Wayne National Forest that has the most acreage at stake--18,800 acres that oil and gas companies want to drill.

Mike MurphyPermalink Reply by Mike Murphy on November 7, 2015 at 9:13am

Drill BABY DRILL

Permalink Reply by Becky on November 7, 2015 at 10:37am
There won't be any drilling in and around the Wayne National Forest unless private property owners attend the Public meeting on the 17th. They need to hear from us. We all need to be talking with our neighbors and arranging car pools to get there. I'm surrounded on three sides by the forest and I don't want to see another 4 years go by because not a single landowner showed up at the last public meeting. We can fight later about how Monroe County never receives notices on what is happening in the forest. Right now we all need to come together and attend the scoping meeting on Nov 17th, 6:30 pm at Marietta College.
Permalink Reply by searcherone on November 8, 2015 at 11:16am

Ok folks, here is the opposition side to drilling in the Wayne National Forest written by the Buckeye Forest Council. If anyone wants to post the text of the article on GMS I would be grateful.     Here is the link and if any landowners or oil and gas companies think there will not be opposition to drilling in and around the Wayne you are sadly out of touch.    In fact one of the points of the article suggests that the Wayne purchase the mineral rights held by individuals under property owned by the Wayne.

http://buckeyeforestcouncil.org/dont-spoil-the-wayne/

Permalink Reply by searcherone on November 9, 2015 at 10:25am

Here is the reason to attend the meeting in Marietta.

The Wayne owns 24,427 acres in Monroe County.   If you live in one of the townships with lots of acreage

owned by the Wayne odds are your acreage will not get drilled unless you speak up and say that it is acceptable to drill on the Wayne.   60% of the minerals on the Wayne are held by private individuals.  There are six townships at HIGH RISK of not having their acreage drilled.

Take yourself, your family, your friends and neighbors to the meeting and say yes to drilling on the Wayne.  It is a public meeting held by a government agency and ANYONE can attend.  That means those opposed will attend also.

Here is the breakdown of acreage on the Wayne in Monroe County: 

Washington Township:  5,233

Perry Township:  4,611

Jackson:  3,883

Benton:   3,865

Bethel:  2,905

Wayne: 2,484

Green:   585

Center:  410

Lee:  264

Franklin: 144

Village of Graysville: 39

Permalink Reply by Puzzled on November 9, 2015 at 12:47pm

Posted By BuckeyeForestCouncil on Nov 2, 2015

On Sunday, November 1, 2015, the U.S. Forest Service (FS) and Bureau of Land Management (BLM) announced plans to consider leasing over 31,000 acres of public mineral rights underneath Ohio’s Wayne National Forest to private oil & gas companies.
In their Public Notice riddled with errors (including wrong day, bad webpage link, and inconsistent acreage numbers), the FS/BLM announced that they would hold “Scoping Meetings” to provide information on the Proposal and solicit “feedback” from interested parties.  However, no project details were provided in the Notice or otherwise made available.
In addition, the Notice also states that the FS/BLM has already pre- decided to conduct piece-meal Environmental Assessments by district before receiving public “feedback” and despite the enormous footprint and potential impacts of this forest-wide proposal.
The FS/BLM are clearly indicating that they have already made the determination to categorically exclude the Proposal from full National Environmental Policy Act scrutiny in an effort to fast-tract the handover of public rights for private exploitation at the expense of forest ecosystems.
As has become their tactic, the Proposal is being lobbed at the beginning of the family holiday season and provides barely two-weeks notice prior to the first meeting.  The dates and locations of the known meetings are as follows:
Tuesday, November 17: Marietta,
Ohio. Marietta College, Andrews Hall Great Room 203, 215 Fifth Street: 6:30-8:30 PM.
Wednesday, November 18: Athens, Ohio.  Athens Community Center Multipurpose Room A, 701 East State Street: 6:30-8:30 PM.
 
Thursday, November 19: Ironton, Ohio.  Ohio University Southern Campus, Collins Center, Bowman Auditorium, 1804 Liberty Avenue: 6:30-8:30 PM.
We are asking people to attend the scheduled meetings, if possible.  BFC members will be at each meeting. There is strength and synergy in numbers.
If you can’t attend,  please submit written comments critical of this contrived NEPA process, limited and incorrect notice, poor timing, and piece-meal Environmental Assessment approach.  Demand that the FS/BLM:
1. restart the process with proper Federal Register notice;
2. provide additional and meaningful opportunities for public input after the first of the year;
3. revise the outdated Wayne National Forest Plan to include consideration of the impacts of new oil & gas extraction technologies;
4. prepare a full & comprehensive EIS to address the site-specific AND cumulative impacts of this forest-wide proposal;
5.  not subsidize the oil & gas industry by handing over public rights at the bottom of a worldwide energy market;
6.    focus effort on acquiring some of the 120,000 acres of mineral rights under the Wayne N.F. that are currently in private hands since it is currently a “buyers market”; and
7.  prevent further contribution to climate change by keeping all public fossil fuels in the ground, undisturbed.
For background information on previous attempts to lease mineral rights under the Wayne, please see:
Please send comments to
Permalink Reply by Puzzled on November 9, 2015 at 12:51pm

The above post is the opposition view to drilling in the Wayne.......I live out of state or I would be at the meeting with as many pro drill landowners as I could convince to come.....let the govt hear the pro drilling point of view as loudly as the conservationists spout their views on how we should use OUR property........................

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