Big oil is coming for half the pie this Thanksgiving

We’re a month away from Thanksgiving.

But oil and gas didn’t wait. They’re already at the table trying to take half the pie.

A gas driller just asked the state to frack under 618 acres of Monroe Lake Wildlife Area in Monroe County. That’s 46% of the whole preserve. Nearly half of a place where Ohio families hunt, fish, and spend their weekends.

And here’s the part that should make you set your fork down: we don’t even know who’s asking. State law lets the company keep its name secret.

That’s like somebody showing up to Thanksgiving, cutting themselves half the sweet potato pie, and refusing to say how they’re related to your family.

They’ve been eating good for a while now:

• Salt Fork State Park – 6111 acres
• Egypt Valley Wildlife Area – 12,963 acres
• Jockey Hollow Wildlife Area – 1843 acres

In all, 22,000 acres of Ohio’s public land have been handed to drillers, every single lease going to out-of-state companies.

Monroe Lake doesn’t have to be the next plate.

The Oil and Gas Land Management Commission is taking public comments through November 30. That’s the Monday after Thanksgiving. So handle it now, before the turkey, the travel, and the family group chat take over your week.

Submit a public comment now on two nominations to frack Monroe Lake Wildlife Area

Two minutes each, and do it twice:

1. Click the link above
2. Select 26-DNR-0011, post your comment, and submit
3. Go back, select 26-DNR-0012, post another comment, and submit

Pick the comment below that sounds most like you. Better yet, write it in your own words. Personal comments carry the most weight.

I am writing to urge the Commission to reject Nominations 26-DNR-0011 and 26-DNR-0012 for Monroe Lake Wildlife Area. Wildlife areas in Ohio were set aside for wildlife habitat, hunting, and fishing, and they are paid for in large part by the license fees of sportsmen and sportswomen like me. Opening roughly 618 of the area’s 1,333 acres to oil and gas development means more truck traffic, noise, and disturbance in and around a place people go for quiet and good habitat. A wildlife area that is being drilled is no longer serving its purpose. Please keep Monroe Lake what it was meant to be and deny these nominations.

I respectfully ask the Commission to deny Nominations 26-DNR-0011 and 26-DNR-0012 at Monroe Lake Wildlife Area. Families in southeastern Ohio depend on clean water and a healthy landscape, and this region has already absorbed more than its share of oil and gas development and the spills, fires, and accidents that come with it. Leasing nearly half of this public preserve adds risk to the water, wildlife, and communities around it, and the people who live nearby will carry that risk long after the signing bonus is spent. Please put the health of these communities first and reject these nominations.

I urge the Commission to reject Nominations 26-DNR-0011 and 26-DNR-0012. Monroe Lake Wildlife Area belongs to the people of Ohio, yet the public is being asked to comment on leasing 46 percent of it without knowing who is making the request. Ohioans deserve full transparency before any decision is made about land we all own. Since 2021, the state has opened roughly 22,000 acres of parks and wildlife areas to drilling, all awarded to out-of-state companies. Before another lease moves forward, the public deserves to know who benefits and why our shared land keeps being offered up. Please deny these nominations.

Please reject Nominations 26-DNR-0011 and 26-DNR-0012 for Monroe Lake Wildlife Area. Places like Monroe Lake are where Ohio families teach their kids to fish, hike, and love the outdoors. Once land is opened to industrial drilling, those impacts last for generations, and you cannot undo them. Our state parks and wildlife areas are supposed to be protected for the future, not leased one parcel at a time. I am asking you to keep this land whole for my children and every Ohio family that comes after us.

Submit a public comment now on two nominations to frack Monroe Lake Wildlife Area

This Thanksgiving, let’s make sure the people of Ohio keep the whole pie.