Portions of the Talladega National Forest, including some that reach into Calhoun County, are about to be leased for oil and gas exploration. The Bureau of Land Management and the U.S. Forest Service are scheduled to begin leasing 43-thousand acres one week from today. Among the tracts to be leased are areas near the Dugger Mountain Wilderness east of Jacksonville and one bordering a drinking water reservoir in Calhoun County. Environmental groups say they will sue, fearing the impact that drilling would have on endangered species, such as the red-cockaded woodpecker and the Indiana bat.
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