Date: March 22, 2011

To: The Honorable John Kasich, Governor

The Honorable Bill Batchelder, Speaker, Ohio House of Representatives
The Honorable Louis Blessing, Speaker Pro Tem, Ohio House of Representatives
The Honorable Armond Budish, Minority Leader, Ohio House of Representatives
The Honorable Matt Szollosi, Assistant Minority Leader, Ohio House of Representatives

Re: Letter in Opposition to Drilling in State Parks, Nature Preserves & Other State Lands, as
proposed in House Bill 133, Senate Bill 108, and the Executive Budget

Dear Governor Kasich and General Assembly Leaders:

The Sierra Club, Buckeye Forest Council, Ohio Environmental Council, and the undersigned
organizations write in opposition to legislation introduced to allow drilling for oil and gas on state
lands. We believe that our state parks, state forests, state nature preserves, Lake Erie, and other
state properties should be off limits to oil and gas extraction. Our state parks attract 50 million visitors
each year, and the State of Ohio has a solemn duty to honor its promise to perpetually care for—and not
exploit—its public lands, to forever protect the last remaining vestiges of our natural heritage for
generations to come.
Only a small percentage of Ohio’s landscape currently is off limits to oil and gas drilling. The
Revised Code does not authorize oil and gas development at state parks, state nature preserves, state
historic sites, and the state’s lone wilderness area. This leaves the overwhelming majority of Ohio’s
landscape already open to drilling, including all privately owned land, state forests and the Wayne
National Forest (Ohio’s largest single public land mass).

Drilling on State Lands will require the State to acquire expensive new land. The state does not own
the mineral rights to all of the lands that it owns and controls. And on many lands where the state does
own the mineral rights, another complication exists: Under federal law, before the state can allow drilling
on state lands that were created by or ever received federal funding through the federal Land and Water
Conservation Fund it first must undergo an expensive and thorough review from the National Park
Service and must replace any impacted land with land of equivalent value.

Drilling in Public Lands threatens tourism revenues for local and rural communities. Tourism in
parks and public lands generates significant revenue to local economies, but resource impacts continue
long after active drilling ceases, including site clearance, stream crossings, access road building, periodic
maintenance, odors, compressor noise, and fire risks. These impacts—many of them unavoidable—will
interfere with the experience of park visitors. A report produced by Longwoods International shows that
each tax dollar spent on encouraging Ohio tourism produces $12 in state and local tax revenues. This
revenue would be put at risk if park visitors perceive an interruption of the natural experience that they
have come to expect at Ohio’s state parks.

Our State Lands should be protected by pollution and other risks caused by drilling. The natural gas
industry currently enjoys unacceptable federal exemptions from key parts of the Clean Water Act, the
Clean Air Act, the Safe Drinking Water Act, the National Environmental Policy Act, the Toxic Release
Inventory under the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act, and others. In recent years,
drilling has caused explosions, fires, water contamination, and spills on private lands in Ohio. With only
twenty-two inspectors in the entire state, Ohio lacks the resources to enforce the minimal safety
regulations that exist on private, let alone state lands.

Drilling would disrupt the pristine ecosystems on our State Lands. The presence of drill rigs,
compressor stations, pipelines and roads would threaten the long-term sustainability of our fish, wildlife,
and water resources. The access roads, larger clearings, and retainment ponds needed to accommodate
hydraulic fracturing would have an even more significant impact on the landscape than traditional
drilling.

Drilling on State Lands does not outweigh the financial liabilities and safety risks. Certainly Ohio’s
budget crisis calls for creative solutions to bring dollars to the state. However, with no consistent and
verifiable independent estimates of lease revenue and royalty payments that would result from drilling on
public lands, it is difficult to endorse putting our parks at risk. We ask you to look past the rosy revenue
projections touted by oil and gas interests to consider the need to repay the federal government for grants
received decades ago, the potential loss of tourism revenues, the safety and liability risks, and the
potentially irreparable damage drilling can cause to our wildlife and water resources.
The Majority of Ohioans oppose drilling on our State Lands. A poll conducted by the Columbus
Dispatch newspaper showed that more than 70 percent of the readers participating in the survey oppose
the idea of drilling for oil and gas at Ohio’s state parks. Ohioans believe these lands have been set aside
as sanctuaries where families can go to enjoy our state’s natural treasures.
We respectfully encourage you to reject drilling in protected public lands. Thank you for your time and
we welcome further discussion on this issue.

Sincerely,

Jennifer Miller, Conservation Manager

Sierra Club Ohio Chapter
Jennnifer.miller@sierraclub.org
614-461-0734, ext. 304

Cheryl Johncox, Executive Director

Buckeye Forest Council
Cheryl@buckeyeforestcouncil.org
614-487-9290

Jack Shaner, Deputy Director

Ohio Environmental Council
Jack@theOEC.org
614-487-5822
Phil Cantino
Athens Conservancy

Mark Purdy, President

Greater Akron Audubon Society

Ray Miller, President

Friends of Wetlands

W. Hardy Eshbaugh, President

Audubon Miami Valley

Vickie Hennessy, President

Green Environmental Coalition

Cheryl Carpenter, Founder

Voices for the Forest

Vickie Askins, Steering Committee

Ohio Environmental Stewardship Alliance

Alex Silbajoris, Chair

Friends of the Scioto River

Alex Beauchamp, Midwest Region Director

Food & Water Watch

Vanessa Pesec, President

NEOGAP (Network for Oil and Gas Accountability and Protection)

Sherry Fleming, Chair

Williams County Alliance

Phil Cantino,
Friends of Strouds Run State Parks

Christine Hughes
Green Plate Club, Athens Chapter

Bob O'Neil
Athens F.I.G. (Fracking Interest Group)

Concerned Citizens of Portage County

Lori and Steve Babbey

Ted Voneida, Executive Board

Kent Environmental Council

Nancy Stranahan, Director

The Arc of Appalachia Preserve System
Karen Hansen, State Director
Ohio Conference on Fair Trade

Julian Boggs, Program Associate

Environment Ohio

Board of Directors
Ohio Alliance for People and Environment

Coby Williams
Progress Ohio

Martha Buckalew
Friends of the Ravines

Board of Directors
Simply Living of Central Ohio

Ron Prosek, Vice-President

NEOGAP (Network for Oil & Gas Accountability & Protection)