University of Tennessee Request for Bids for Fracking in the Cumberland Forest Yields No Proposals

In September 2013, a bidding process for fracking on University of Tennessee land in the Cumberland Forest resulted in no proposals, effectively putting the project on hold. This does not mean, however, that the University won’t try again to frack on these precious public lands.

SELC’s Tennessee Managing Attorney Anne Davis responded to this development:  “There have been so many questions about opening up valuable public lands without a public review process when many questions existed around the supposed research objectives, so we’re glad to see UT putting the project on hold. We are hopeful UT will recognize the exceptional value of this land, renowned for its expansive forests and wildlife habitats, and ultimately decide not to move forward.    We believe the Cumberland Forest must be protected from oil and gas drilling because of the unique environmental value of this land, where the hardwood forests are among the highest conservation-value forests remaining in our country.”

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