Last fall the Bureau of Land Management (BLMird lease auction is set for September 21st. On August 17, Eclipse Resources, which won about 1,300 acres in the first two BLM auctions, applied for its first drilling permit to begin fracking under public land in Wayne National Forest from a well on private land in Green Township in Monroe County.

Energy Transfer Partner’s (ETP) Rover Pipeline, which is still under construction, has already been cited for more than 100 violations and has destroyed a pristine wetland area in northeast Ohio after spilling more than two million gallons of drilling fluid into it. This pipeline will go under the Ohio River from West Virginia and into the proclamation boundary of Wayne National Forest in southeast Ohio, where it will connect to fracking operations. It is expected to be operational by November.

Energy Transfer Partners – owner of the disastrous Dakota Access Pipeline – is wreaking havoc across the United States. From North Dakota to Pennsylvania, from Ohio to Louisiana, from Michigan to Texas, ETP continues to systematically and ruthlessly violate indigenous sovereignty and human rights. Wherever they build, ETP steals land, poisons air and water, and trashes the climate.

On the weekend of September 9th, 2017, an emerging coalition of frontline communities and allies are taking action across the country to #StopETP and defend indigenous rights and our water, land, air and climate.

Across Ohio concerned residents will join in actions to raise awareness about the threat to Wayne National Forest and to the air and water we depend on, to urge Senator Sherrod Brown to sign onto a letter for a broad investigation into Rover Parent Company, Energy Transfer Partners, and to put pressure on PNC Bank to divest from Energy Transfer Partners.

• WHAT: Columbus This Land is Our Land rally against leasing of Wayne National Forest to gas and oil companies and Energy Transfer Partners’ Rover Pipeline

• WHO: Keep Wayne Wild Columbus Chapter, Sierra Club, Ohio Revolution

• WHERE: Columbus Federal Building

• WHEN: September 8, 3pm-5pm

• WHAT: Cleveland This Land is Our Land rally against leasing of Wayne National Forest to gas and oil companies and Energy Transfer Partners’ Rover Pipeline

• WHO: Keep Wayne Wild Cleveland Chapter, Sierra Club, Cleveland Environmental Action Network

• WHERE: PNC Bank Tower, 1900 E 9th St, Cleveland, OH 44114

• WHEN: September 8, 12pm-1pm

• WHAT:  Marietta This Land is Our Land rally against leasing of Wayne National Forest to gas and oil companies and Energy Transfer Partners’ Rover Pipeline

• WHO: Keep Wayne Wild Marietta Chapter, Athens County Fracking Action Network, Sierra Club

• WHERE: Athens Ranger Station - Marietta Unit, 27515 State Route 7, Marietta, OH 45750

• WHEN: September 8, 12pm-3pm
   

“Wayne National Forest provides habitat for wildlife, including a number of endangered species and recreational opportunities for people of all ages. It is one of the wildest and most scenic areas in Ohio. Furthermore, it cleans our air and water and helps mitigate climate change. We must act now to protect what little forest we have left in this area, for our own good and for the sake of future generations,” said Keep Wayne Wild spokesperson Becca Pollard.

CONTACT: Becca Pollard, 503-756-2598, keepwaynewild@gmail.com