The federal government plans to auction oil and gas lease rights for 1,600 acres of the Wayne National Forest near Marietta.

The Bureau of Land Management released a notice of a competitive oil and gas internet-based lease sale.

It says there would be no significant environmental impact to the forest because of drilling.

It's the only national forest in the state of Ohio, which covers more than 240,000 acres.

Oil and gas extraction has taken place there for a while, but on a smaller scale.

Industry workers favor the decision, while environmentalists plan to appeal it.

"This is opportunity for those landowners to have a better and brighter future and that is very important. Again, that's through leasing of land and royalties and they can use those royalties to reinvest back into their selves, their farms, or back into the community," says executive vice president of the Ohio Oil and Gas Association, Shawn Bennett.

"This will be bad for wildlife. It will be bad for recreation and bad just for the health of the forest, generally. Another problem is the federal government isn't following its own laws. This is heavy, industrial development we're talking about and most people don't want that in their backyards or their publicly owned forests," says an attorney for the Ohio Environmental Council, Nathan Johnson.

The notice allows opponents 30 days to file a formal protest.

The government will then look at the oppositions before moving ahead with an online auction, which is scheduled for December 13th.