Nearly 3,000 acres of Ohio’s Wayne National Forest auctioned for drilling

Columbus — Almost 3,000 acres of Ohio’s only national forest were leased recently for more than $11 million for horizontal drilling for natural gas.

The federal Bureau of Land Management (BLM) auctioned off 40 parcels of Wayne National Forest in Monroe and Washington counties to out-of-state companies for fracking. A total of 2,776 acres were auctioned for $11.09 million during a BLM quarterly sale.

“Leasing is the first step in the process to develop federal oil and gas resources,” BLM said in a statement.

The following companies leased the parcels in the Wayne:

• Apex Energy Operating LLC of Pennsylvania leased 25 parcels for $7.97 million.

• Texas-based R&R Royalty LTD leased six parcels for $864,234.

• Gulfport Appalachia LLC of Oklahoma leased five parcels for $1.98 million.

• Texas Independent Exploration Limited of Texas leased three parcels for $241,559.

• Ohio Gasco LLC of Pennsylvania leased one parcel for $25,769.

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Wayne National Forest was established in 1935, totaling 244,000 acres in 12 Ohio counties. The Wayne is broken up into three units: Athens, Ironton, and Marietta in southeast Ohio.

The U.S. Forest Service reports that more than 200,000 people visit the Wayne on an annual basis for outdoor recreation, including hiking, biking, and hunting.

Those visitors spend $7.4 million annually, according to the Forest Service.

According to the BLM, this is the first lease sale in the Wayne since 2017.