Protecting Our Native Forests
For over three decades, we have stood as a dedicated guardian of our native public forests. Our mission is to challenge corporate exploitation and ensure these precious landscapes thrive for generations to come. Our record of achievement is built on strategic action and unwavering commitment.
Our legacy includes a ten year halt on logging in the Wayne National Forest, a pivotal role in ending commercial logging in Mohican State Forest, and the successful prevention of destructive longwall mining beneath Ohio’s rare old growth treasure, Dysart Woods.
We drive change through powerful advocacy and informed analysis. We led the publicity efforts for a groundbreaking economic report on forest management and exposed the financial incentives and critical mismanagement behind a devastating 3,000 acre wildfire in the Shawnee State Forest. This work ignited public awareness and held agencies accountable.
Our recent efforts continue this momentum. We support grassroots campaigns to end commercial logging and expand the Wilderness Area in Shawnee State Forest. We have successfully opposed biomass burning utility applications, providing crucial analysis that halted the conversion of a major power plant from coal to tree burning. In 2015, our collaborative statewide opposition forced the Wayne National Forest to abandon its misguided “Buckeye Habitat Improvement” project, a significant victory for forest preservation.
When the Wayne National Forest was threatened by fracking, we took immediate action. Our legal commentary became the foundation for a powerful grassroots movement in Athens County, leading to the removal of forest tracts from a 2011 auction. We spearheaded a coalition demanding a full environmental impact review, as mandated by federal law.
Despite this progress, the threat reemerged. In 2015, we helped mobilize overwhelming public opposition at federal agency meetings. Now, in the face of a federal decision that disregards both public concern and clear evidence of fracking’s severe risks to water supplies, our resolve is stronger than ever. We remain steadfast in our support for all efforts to protect the Wayne National Forest from this dangerous practice.
Our passion for preservation is matched only by our strategic, persistent pursuit of results. We are committed to continuing this vital work, defending every acre of our cherished public lands.
Wayne National Forest
Wayne National Forest is Ohio’s only national forest, made up of three noncontiguous units: the Athens Unit, Ironton Unit, and Marietta Unit. Within the proclamation boundary of each unit is a patchwork of public and private land.
When European settlers first arrived in Ohio, the land was mostly covered in old growth deciduous forest, but by the early 20th century, the area had been clearcut and mined beyond recognition. The Wayne is a second growth forest, planted by the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930s, and managed by Region 9 of the US Forest Service under the US Department of Agriculture. The Forest Management Plan for The Wayne was last updated in 2006, and does not reflect current science and conditions.
The Wayne provides habitat for wildlife, including endangered species like the Indiana bat, and provides human visitors with some of Ohio’s best spots for camping, hiking, birdwatching, hunting, foraging, kayaking, and numerous other outdoor activities.
Today our beloved Wayne faces numerous threats, and it is up to us to protect it for future generations.
Ohio State Forests
Ohio has 23 State Forests, which are managed by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources Division of Forestry (DOF). Every year the DOF holds open houses and a public comment period on its Annual Work Plan for State Forests.
