Not Even National Parks Are Safe From Fracking

America’s national parks cover nearly 52 million acres — an area roughly the size of Kansas — and contain some of the most incredible natural landscapes in the country. Sweeping valleys, frosted mountain peaks and immaculate waterways host a range of incredible wildlife, many of which are threatened or endangered.

National parks are also public lands, maintained by the federal government with taxpayer money. They are, quite literally, our land. But while national parks are highly protected, the land surrounding them — as well as other public land like national forests and state parks — are much more vulnerable to exploitation under U.S. law. Now, frackers want to take advantage of that. That’s bad news for the wildlife and waterways that cross park boundaries.

Oil and gas companies already have the rights to frack on some 30 million acres of public land in the United States, but they want more. In fact, they’re targeting more than 200 million additional acres of public lands for fracking, much of it in national forests, state parks and the areas surrounding national parks.

These are a few of the places at risk…

 

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