About 12 hours after Athens City Council announced they would be sending a letter protesting the selling of land leases in the Wayne National Forest for the purpose of mining, the Athens County Commissioners followed suit.
Athens County commissioner Lenny Eliason said the decision to send a letter of protest to the U.S. Bureau of Land Management was made at this morning’s commissioners’ meeting.
“We hope they will withdraw those parcels of land,” he said.
The commissioners have no ability to control what happens to the land, he added.
In addition, city councilmembers discussed sending a letter to Dr. John Lyon, state director of the Bureau of Land Management’s Eastern States Office, urging him to withdraw the leases in Athens County in order to properly assess the land at last night’s Athens City Council meeting.
“It’s our land and they should follow the rules. Plain and simple,” said Councilwoman Nancy Bain.
The letters come in response to the bureau’s announcement to sell leases to more than 2,600 acres of land for the purpose of oil and natural gas drilling in Athens County.
The proposed leases are all part of Wayne National Forest, including land adjunct to the Hocking River upstream from Athens. The HockHocking Adena Bikeway will run next to the land, as well.
“It could ruin our county — people won’t be able to sell their land or get mortgages, no one who can leave will choose to stay, tourists won’t want to come to a stinky industrial zone,” said Heather Cantino, chair of the Buckeye Forest Council. “The county will be a toxic dump.”
