Keen Wildlife Area in oil and gas crosshairs

Keen Wildlife Area is made up of 84 acres situated in eastern Ohio in western Harrison County 2 1/2 miles south of Stillwater.

The land for the Keen Wildlife Area was deeded to the ODNR Division of Wildlife from the estate of Mrs. Margaret C. Keen in 1996. Management is supposed to include protection and improvement of existing woodlands to maintain habitat diversity. Hunting is the major recreational use of the area; sightseeing, hiking, nature study, and bird watching are the other popular recreational uses.

But now, the fracking industry is targeting this beautiful wildlife area for more oil and gas extraction through toxic and radioactive fracking.

Tell the Oil and Gas Land Management Commission that you do not support fracking of Keen Wildlife Area. Please visit the Nomination Comment Form, choose Nomination #24-DNR-0002, and submit your comment.

The land within Keen Wildlife Area is primarily used by forest species which include deer, wild turkey, ruffed grouse, and gray squirrel. The cottontail rabbit and all furbearers common to the region are found on the area. Woodland birds can be seen in abundance during the spring and fall migration.

The area lies in the unglaciated deeply eroded Allegheny plateau hill region of Ohio. The deeply dissected terrain is composed of ridges with steep slopes. Second growth hardwoods occupy 80 percent of the area. The rugged, scenic beauty of the area attracts many sightseers. Visitors find a wide variety of plant communities and in association with them, a diversity of songbirds and other wildlife.

None of this is compatible with fracking. Please tell the Oil and Gas Land Management Commission that you don’t support fracking of Keen Wildlife Area. Visit the Nomination Comment Form, choose Nomination #24-DNR-0002, and submit your comment by April 28, 2024.

You can use our sample letter below — but please personalize to explain why preserving our wildlife areas is important to you:

To the Ohio Oil and Gas Land Management Commission:

I am writing to strongly oppose fracking of Keen Wildlife Area. This beautiful wildlife area is widely used for hunting, hiking, bird watching, photography, and site-seeing. None of this is compatible with the noise, toxic air pollution, methane leaks, lights, and numerous truck trips entailed in any fracking operation.

ODNR acquired the land that makes up Keen Wildlife Area from the estate of Mrs. Margaret Keen, and it was meant to be protected. Numerous species call Keen home, including white-tailed deer, wild turkey, ruffed grouse, and gray squirrel. The cottontail rabbit and all furbearers common to the region are found in the area. Woodland birds can be seen in abundance during the spring and fall migration.

Fracking uses tens of millions of gallons of fresh water for each frack — where will that water come from? Taking that much water from ponds and streams in the surrounding area will degrade the habitat for all species as well as human recreational use.

The people of Ohio pay for and use our public lands, including Keen Wildlife Area. We do not want to see oil and gas extraction from this land. Enough is enough. Please DENY nomination 24-DNR-0002, and preserve Keen as it was meant to be.

Thank you.

Photo Credit: Keen Wildlife Area by Josh Britton