Stop Fracking Under Ohio's State Parks and Wildlife Areas
Stop Fracking Under Ohio's State Parks and Wildlife Areas
The Issue
Ohio's state parks and wildlife areas belong to all of us. They are places where families hike, where wildlife thrives, and where clean water flows through ecosystems that took centuries to develop. But on March 27, 2026, the Ohio Oil and Gas Land Management Commission voted to open Salt Fork State Park and Egypt Valley Wildlife Area to fracking — putting more than 8,500 acres of protected public land at risk.
Fracking — the process of injecting high-pressure mixtures of water, sand and chemicals deep underground — doesn't stay underground. It depletes groundwater, contaminates soils, and fragments the habitats that birds, mammals, and native plants depend on to survive. Melinda Zemper of Save Ohio Parks put it plainly: biodiversity in our parks and pristine places will decrease. These are not abstract consequences. They are the slow, irreversible loss of what makes Ohio's natural spaces worth protecting in the first place.
Salt Fork State Park is the largest state park in Ohio. Egypt Valley Wildlife Area is home to migratory birds and some of the most ecologically rich land in the state. Approving fracking leases under these places isn't stewardship — it's exploitation. And it sets a dangerous precedent. Since 2023, more than 11,600 acres of Ohio state parks and wildlife areas have already been approved for oil and gas extraction. This decision is not a one-time exception. It is a pattern.
Ohio does not have to choose between energy and conservation. The state has enormous untapped potential in solar and wind — clean energy sources that do not poison groundwater, do not fragment wildlife habitat, and do not put our shared public lands up for sale to the highest bidder.
We are calling on the Ohio General Assembly and Governor Mike DeWine to reverse this decision, place an immediate moratorium on new fracking leases in Ohio state parks and wildlife areas, and commit to clean energy alternatives that protect Ohio's natural heritage for generations to come.
Sign this petition to tell Ohio's leaders: our parks are not for sale.
191
The Issue
Ohio's state parks and wildlife areas belong to all of us. They are places where families hike, where wildlife thrives, and where clean water flows through ecosystems that took centuries to develop. But on March 27, 2026, the Ohio Oil and Gas Land Management Commission voted to open Salt Fork State Park and Egypt Valley Wildlife Area to fracking — putting more than 8,500 acres of protected public land at risk.
Fracking — the process of injecting high-pressure mixtures of water, sand and chemicals deep underground — doesn't stay underground. It depletes groundwater, contaminates soils, and fragments the habitats that birds, mammals, and native plants depend on to survive. Melinda Zemper of Save Ohio Parks put it plainly: biodiversity in our parks and pristine places will decrease. These are not abstract consequences. They are the slow, irreversible loss of what makes Ohio's natural spaces worth protecting in the first place.
Salt Fork State Park is the largest state park in Ohio. Egypt Valley Wildlife Area is home to migratory birds and some of the most ecologically rich land in the state. Approving fracking leases under these places isn't stewardship — it's exploitation. And it sets a dangerous precedent. Since 2023, more than 11,600 acres of Ohio state parks and wildlife areas have already been approved for oil and gas extraction. This decision is not a one-time exception. It is a pattern.
Ohio does not have to choose between energy and conservation. The state has enormous untapped potential in solar and wind — clean energy sources that do not poison groundwater, do not fragment wildlife habitat, and do not put our shared public lands up for sale to the highest bidder.
We are calling on the Ohio General Assembly and Governor Mike DeWine to reverse this decision, place an immediate moratorium on new fracking leases in Ohio state parks and wildlife areas, and commit to clean energy alternatives that protect Ohio's natural heritage for generations to come.
Sign this petition to tell Ohio's leaders: our parks are not for sale.
191
The Decision Makers
Supporter Voices
Petition created on March 30, 2026