Wayne National Forest, the only National Forest in Ohio, covers 250,000 acres in the southeast region of that State; this protected landscape, long a haven for naturalists, hikers, campers and hunters is broken into three units.
Now, as we learned during our visit to Ohio, Trump's Bureau of Land Management has sold leases on almost 3000 acres of the Forest for oil and gas exploration, including the use of fracking. Of course, these operations will impact far more acreage than the lease zones themselves, due to the effects of road development, traffic, pollution and water requirements.
Once again, the Trump Administration is attacking as many environmental laws, refuges and protected ecosystems as possible, demonstrating their unbridled support for energy production and disdain for conservation. They ridicule the science and consequences of climate change and bolster fossil fuel use wherever and whenever possible.
