The U.S. Forestry Service announced Monday that it will allow fracking in the Wayne National Forest in southeast Ohio.

The announcement hit about the same time that Republicans in Tampa were blasting President Obama for not allow more of the shale drilling on public lands. They also were going over polls and strategies that suggest Mitt Romney could swing Ohio by backing more drilling. Polling Group Inc. says Ohioans are three times more likely to vote for a politician who backs more drilling.

Even before that session, Ohio’s U.S. Sen. Rob Portman and other Republicans were accusing the administration of slowing the process.

In its announcement, the Forest Service says the Wayne forest’s management plan could adequately address any damage and risks from the drilling and there is no need for a new environmental study. Environmental groups say the plan never contemplated the fracking, and Athens County, Ohio University and the city of Athens oppose it.

Republicans, including Senate candidate Josh Mandel, have dismissed the critics as extremists.

Wayne National Forest Supervisor Anne Carey says more than 3,000 acres have been withdrawn from a natural gas and oil lease sale scheduled for next month.

Local leaders from areas near the forest in southeast Ohio had protested the lease sale, saying they feared a fracking accident could harm the forest. Some environmental groups have said the process that involves using chemical-laden water to free gas deposits has contaminated ground water supplies.