Republican legislators believe fees from drilling could raise as much as $20 million for park maintenance, 10TV's Kevin Landers reported.

Environmentalists are opposed to opening state parks to drilling and are upset that the Republican state senate inserted the plan in the budget bill without public hearings.

"It's inappropriate to try to stuff this into a budget bill," Brandi Whetstone of the Ohio Chapter of the Sierra Club told 10TV News. "It deserves to have more attention, more citizen input. After all, we do own these public lands."

Matt Lehman of Columbus was fishing yesterday in Alum Creek State Park. Lehman supports the idea of drilling for oil and gas in state parks, if it can be done safely.

"Having a source of oil that is readily available, I think we should probably tap into that, in a safe way that isn't going to dilute the parks and pollute the parks," Lehman said.

The senate's version of the bill must now be reconciled with the version passed by the Democratic-controlled Ohio House. If the final budget bill allows for drilling in state parks, the Sierra Club will call on Gov. Ted Strickland to veto the bill.

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