Mission and Vision

The Buckeye Forest Council (BFC) is a membership-based, grassroots organization dedicated to protecting Ohio’s native forests and their inhabitants. The BFC uses education, advocacy and organizing to address the need for forest preservation and low-impact recreation over logging and resource extraction.  We seek to instill in Ohioans a sense of personal connection to and responsibility for Ohio's native forests and to challenge the exploitation of land, wildlife and people. Our nation’s forests are essential “carbon sinks” and our primary terrestrial defense against the climate crisis.  We work to protect our forests for their biodiversity and their provision of essential ecosystem services, including clean air and water and climate protection.

BFC has long focused on public forests. Recently we have expanded to address broader threats to climate and ecological and human health from dirty energy. Our work against utilities that get renewable energy credits to burn trees (“biomass”) for electricity and our work to ban deep-shale horizontal fracturing (fracking) and injection wells expose these dangerous false “energy solutions.”

We seek a world of healthy forests and healthy people, which depend on clean energy and an end to corporate poisoning of our planet enabled by government policies.

Organizational Background

Founded in 1992 by the Student Environmental Action Coalition at Ohio State University, the BFC was incorporated in 1993. For most of its history, BFC has focused on public forests. We coordinated a national effort that led to the prohibition of coal stripmining on all federal forestland, including Ohio’s Wayne National Forest. We achieved a halt to logging on the Wayne for a decade. We prevented longwall mining, the most damaging method of mining, under Dysart Woods, one of Ohio’s last ancient forests and a National Natural Landmark. Our watchdogging of state and federal agencies has resulted in continuing public scrutiny, public comments, and media visibility of repeated mismanagement of public lands.

For the past two years, Buckeye Forest Council has been working with community leaders across the state to protect
 our environment and Ohioans’ health from fracking and frack waste. Ohio is being increasingly impacted by air emissions of toxic chemicals and methane––a highly potent greenhouse gas, as well as by water contamination, water consumption, and destruction of property values, sustainable businesses, and Ohioans’ quality of life. BFC works with grassroots groups and individuals to educate their communities, local officials, and legislators on implications of water consumption, air and water contamination, toxic, radioactive waste, and the lack of protective regulations at both the state and federal levels.  Our work includes legal advice, technical, organizational, and media support for grassroots actions, and public forums.

BFC also works to shut down injection wells, which have received tens of millions of gallons of out-of-state highly radioactive, toxic frack waste annually in recent years. We have convened grassroots organizers from around the state to develop an injection well legislative ban campaign and continue to work with our partners and grassroots groups to support public education, media coverage, and efforts at federal and state regulatory reforms.

The Buckeye Forest Council has a diverse membership that includes individuals, groups, and businesses throughout the state. Although the majority of forests are in the rolling hills of southeastern Ohio, our work serves a membership throughout the state and in surrounding areas.

The Buckeye Forest Council has a diverse membership that includes individuals, groups, and businesses throughout the state. Although the majority of forests are in the rolling hills of southeastern Ohio, our work serves a membership throughout the state and in surrounding areas.

Read about all of our Board Members here.