Ohio’s public forests and parklands deserve to grow. But these important landscapes face constant threats of exploitation — often from the fossil fuel industry and other extractive interests.
OEC’s Public Lands Program aims to ensure current and future generations of Ohio residents have equitable access to Ohio’s natural world. We work alongside policymakers, agencies, and advocates to expand Ohio’s public lands, protect wildlife and sensitive ecosystems, and defend these natural assets from degradation and destruction.
Public Lands Campaigns
Protect Ohio’s State Public Lands
We must keep fracking out of Ohio’s beloved state parks and wildlife areas.
Learn MorePublic Lands Team
Nathan Johnson
Senior Attorney, Land and Water
As the OEC’s Senior Attorney for Land and Water, Nathan focuses on administrative agency actions that impact our public lands and waterways. He advocates and litigates for the protection of special places, increased access to public lands, and clean water for people and wildlife. Nathan resides in the Columbus area with his wife, two children, and numerous pets. He enjoys gardening, the aquarium hobby, and going on outdoor adventures with his family.
An Ohio-licensed attorney, Nathan received his J.D. from The University of Virginia School of Law and a dual B.A. in History and Philosophy from Denison University. Nathan is admitted to the Ohio Bar, the Federal District Court for the Southern District of Ohio, and the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals.
Molly Jo Stanley
Southeast Ohio Regional Director
As the Southeast Ohio Regional Director, Molly Jo Stanley focuses on the just transition away from a history of extraction that has left scars on our ecosystems and communities. Instead working toward an inclusive, equitable future where deeply connected communities thrive in relationship with the places we depend on.
A lifetime student of place-based teaching and learning, ecology, ethnobotany, and Land stewardship based in the Forests, Meadows, and Wetlands of Appalachia, Jo is a gardener, writer, and musician committed to connecting, strengthening, and uplifting stories and practices that rekindle reverence for our miraculous existence.
Chris Tavenor
General Counsel
As General Counsel, Chris Tavenor leads the OEC’s Law Center while providing essential legal support to the entire organization. They also coordinate the annual Ohio Public Interest Environmental Law Conference and our legal internship program.
Over their time with the OEC, Chris has represented the organization before the Ohio Supreme Court, the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio, the Ohio Power Siting Board, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, the Environmental Review Appeals Commission, and beyond. They have drafted numerous regulatory comments, testimony, and other publications in pursuit of a healthy environment for all who call Ohio home. In working toward a healthy democracy, they led the OEC’s fight for a fair redistricting process in 2021 as a member of the Ohio Citizens’ Redistricting Commission.
Chris studied Philosophy and English at the Ohio State University and graduated from the Ohio State University Moritz College of Law in May 2017. Beyond their work as an attorney and advocate at the OEC, they are also a science fiction and fantasy author, publishing works under the name “C.D. Tavenor.” Their most recent project includes a climate fiction anthology titled “The World’s Revolution,” developed in collaboration with fifteen other authors.
