MANSFIELD -- The Mohican State Park, Malabar Farm State Park, Mohican Memorial State Forest and Pleasant Hill Lake continue to be threatened with drilling for oil, fracking and commercial logging operations.
The Ohio State Legislature voted in 2011 to make it possible for the state to lease out the state parks and forests for such operations.
"We think that was a terrible mistake and we're going to try to get them to reverse themselves," Eric Miller, a member of the Mohican Advocates, a grassroots group of volunteers working to preserve the state parks, said Saturday at Gorman Nature Center.
About 100 people attended the rally.
Miller said the ''terrible mistake'' is that Ohio has relatively few state parks and they play an important role in the quality of peoples' lives.
"While one can talk about the state having financial need, you don't bankrupt your heritage and kidnap and exploit your heritage so that it is gone for the next generation," he said.
While no drilling has been authorized yet in state parks, Miller said the state could sign a contract as early as June.
"Right now it's within the discretion of state officials and what we're saying is it ought not to be entrusted to the discretion of officials. It needs to be protected by the permanent prohibition," Miller said.
Miller said Mohican Advocates was formed in December of 2011 to protect the state parks and to mobilize support to reverse the mistake.
"This rally here today is to explain to people concrete action they can take in order to reverse this mistake while there's still time to protect our parks," he said.
"We will be seeking legislation whereby the parks will be permanently dedicated as parks and be committed legally as sanctuaries forever," Miller said.
A 10-square-mile area, which includes Mohican State Park, Mohican Memorial State Forest and Malabar Farm State Park, is now being called the Mohican complex, Miller said.
"We're saying they should remain as parks, as recreational havens. We should not allow them to be turned into an industrial park," Miller said.
Actions the group is seeking by individuals includes an electronic petition online at www.mohi canadvocates.org, volunteers to make telephone calls and financial donations.
The group is seeking 500,000 signatures.
Some people can't believe this has been authorized, Miller said. "So they're stunned and we have to explain to them it really happened. And then people have hope, a false hope, that the Division of Natural Resources will voluntarily protect these places in spite of their legislative mandates.
"And that's a false hope that could do much to damage our efforts," he added.
John Makley of Kingwood Center asked residents to spread the message.
"Nobody knows about this and when they find out, they're like flabbergasted and this crosses party lines. It crosses the age divide," he said.
During the morning rally, a 13-minute film by local historian Tim McKee called, "Mohican: The Long View," was shown.
The film addressed the importance of Mohican to the local community and to the area's heritage.