NEPA Rulemaking Would Nix Public Participation

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE*** July 10, 2019        CONTACT:  Davis Mounger 423.877.4616     wdmounger@yahoo.com Changing Rules for Public Input Threatens National Forest Management Integrity Public Comment Period ends August 12 ATLANTA-  If the Forest Service has its way, a proposed rule will radically limit the right of citizens to have a voice on the future management of the 188 million acres of the National Forest system.  Under the guise of supposedly streamlining...

Heartwood’s Unseen Presence Instrumental in Stopping Natural Gas Pipelines

by Ernie Reed, Heartwood family Here in Virginia, the specter of two proposed natural gas pipelines, the Atlantic Coast Pipeline  (ACP) and the Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP) looms large.  Over 4 ½ years ago, when the public first got wind of them, virtually no one in Virginia had any experience or knowledge of how to combat the threat. Fast forward to today and the ACP has had 4 federal...

Op Ed- Prescribed Fire and the Shawnee National Forest

Prescribed Fire and the Shawnee   By John B. Wallace   The 2018 Illinois Prescribed Fire Council Winter Symposium was eye opening.  As a skeptic, I had hoped to gather more information on a topic of which data was lacking.  I expected an agenda laced with pro fire propaganda but afterwards was frankly motivated to delve head first into this topic, much more thoroughly than I had planned.  Sadly,...

Frontline Fights Continue in Many States

The news is coming across our feeds fast, and changes so quickly, we wanted to send you the most direct way to stay involved with what is happening on the ground. Our forest lands are under more threats than before. It’s not just logging, fracking and pipelines are fragmenting our forest, and exacerbating climate instability. Plus, we have two comrades who could use a little help. Follow the links...

Protest Challenges New Fracking Leases Threatening Ohio’s Only National Forest

Protest Challenges New Fracking Leases Threatening Ohio’s Only National Forest COLUMBUS, Ohio— Seven conservation groups have filed an administrative protest challenging a Bureau of Land Management plan to auction off 345 acres of Ohio’s Wayne National Forest for oil and gas fracking leases in March. The protest, filed late Tuesday, notes that the leases would lock in dangerous fracking in the Wayne. Despite known threats from hydraulic fracturing, the...

WAYNE NATIONAL FOREST MANAGEMENT PLAN REVISION ESCALATED

On February 13, 2018, the USFS announced that it would be revising the Wayne National Forest Land and Resource Management Plan (“Plan”). Heartwood and other groups sued the U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management in 2017 over the auctioning of mineral rights under the forest and tiering that leasing decision-making to the outdated Plan. Pointing to the fact that the outdated Plan does not contemplate the impacts...

Feds Continue Frack Attack on Ohio’s Wayne National Forest

COLUMBUS, Ohio— The Bureau of Land Management will auction 141 acres in the Wayne National Forest today for oil and gas development, its third lease auction since approving fracking in Ohio’s only national forest last December. The fracking industry has so far nominated about 18,000 acres of the Wayne National Forest’s Marietta Unit to be auctioned for oil and gas leasing. The BLM plans to continue holding quarterly auctions...

22nd Annual Heartwood Reunion October 6-8

The 22nd Annual Heartwood Reunion will take place on October 6th-8th at the Lazy Black Bear in Paoli, Indiana.  The Heartwood Reunion is a public event where people with a shared interest in sustainability and protecting the environment gather from all across the central and eastern United States for a weekend of music, workshops, food, and connection. This year’s event will feature a keynote speech by Ross Gay, award-winning...

Congratulations to our 2017 Mini-Grant Recipients!

  Although we only had a limited amount of funds to distribute this year, we are pleased to announce that everyone who applied was at least partially funded! In some cases applications included requests for funds that fall outside of our grant guidelines, in other cases we simply did our best to give everyone a share without watering down the soup too much. Here are the results of the...

Lawsuit Over Fracking Plan for Ohio’s Only National Forest Expanded

COLUMBUS, Ohio— Conservation groups today expanded a lawsuit challenging a U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management plan to permit fracking in Ohio’s only national forest. The groups are challenging a new 1,147-acre March 2017 lease sale in Wayne National Forest and adding claims that the federal fracking plans violate the Endangered Species Act, threatening animals in the forest and downstream. “Federal officials should not be putting corporate...

Lawsuit Filed Challenging Fracking in the Wayne

Multiple Organizations File Lawsuit Challenging Fracking Plan For Ohio’s Only National Forest   Feds Overlook Danger to Wildlife, Watersheds, and Ohio River COLUMBUS, Ohio— Conservation groups today sued the U.S. Forest Service and U.S. Bureau of Land Management over plans to permit hydraulic fracturing (fracking) operations in Ohio’s only national forest, the Wayne National Forest. The lawsuit was filed in federal district court in Columbus. The lawsuit charges that...

Groups Challenge FERC’s Approval of the Atlantic Sunrise Pipeline

For Immediate Release: 23 March 2017 Groups Challenge Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s Approval of the Atlantic Sunrise Pipeline Washington, DC — Today, the Sierra Club, Lancaster Against Pipelines, Lebanon Pipeline Awareness, Allegheny Defense Project, Clean Air Council, Concerned Citizens of Lebanon County, and Heartwood filed a petition for review with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia challenging the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s (FERC) approval of...

Lawsuit Launched over Fracking in the Wayne National Forest

For Immediate Release, January 26, 2017 Contact: Wendy Park, Center for Biological Diversity, (510) 844-7138, wpark@biologicaldiversity.org Nathan Johnson, Ohio Environmental Council, (614) 487-5841, NJohnson@theOEC.org Tabitha Tripp, Heartwood, (812) 307-4326, info@heartwood.org Loraine McCosker, Ohio Sierra Club, (740) 590-8474, loraine.mccosker@gmail.com Lawsuit Launched Over Fracking in Wayne National Forest   Feds Fail to Address Danger to Wildlife Habitat, Streams ATHENS, Ohio— Conservation groups today filed a notice of intent to sue the...

27th Annual Forest Council “Strong Roots”

JOIN US at the 2017 Heartwood Forest Council “Strong Roots!” May 26th-May 29th, 2017 Dear Heartwood Supporter, For this year’s Council, Heartwood returns to the Katuah bioregion in the Great Smoky Mountains. For 27 years, Heartwood has grown strong roots in the eastern hardwood forest region, sprouting campaigns and building resilience and interconnectedness among people protecting the places they love. Please visit our event page for full details about...

21st Annual Heartwood Reunion

Heartwood Reunion 21st Annual • 2016 YOU’RE INVITED! Please join Heartwood on October 7th-9th for our 21st Annual Heartwood Reunion!  The Heartwood Reunion is a chance for activists from across the Heartwood region to reconnect with old friends and meet new ones, through a weekend of great food, music, dancing, workshops, celebration, and action!  The 2016 Heartwood Reunion will take place at the Lazy Black Bear in Paoli, Indiana–a magical retreat at the...