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Applications for exploratory shale gas development via hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, have raised concern about energy development impacts to South African rangeland. Initially, fracking interest was focused in the arid, open Karoo, but applications for exploration have recently been handled for the grasslands of KwaZulu-Natal, a populous, agricultural province with high cultural, ecological, and economic diversity. We conducted four focus groups and an online survey to determine how residents of South Africa�s grassland districts perceived fracking. Focus group participants were unanimous in their opposition, primarily citing concerns over degraded water quality and rural way-of-life. Survey data collection is ongoing, but preliminary analysis indicates consistency with focus group responses. When asked which provinces might be directly affected by fracking, KwaZulu-Natal was ranked behind Northern Cape, Western Cape, and Eastern Cape, reflecting an awareness bias towards Karoo projects. The most frequently identified concerns regarding Agriculture and Natural Resources were Reduced quality of water, Negative impacts to ecosystems and natural biodiversity, Reduced quantity of water, and Pollution hazards. The most frequent concerns regarding Social, Cultural, and Local Community issues were Impacts to human health, Visual/aesthetic degradation of tourism areas, Degradation of local infrastructure, and Physical degradation of tourism sites.The majority of respondents were pessimistic about potential benefits of fracking to South Africa�s domestic energy supply and electricity production. The majority of respondents did not agree fracking would reduce negative impacts of coal mining or create jobs. Survey respondents showed strong pessimism about government�s preparedness for fracking and agreed fracking created opportunity for corruption. The majority of respondents agreed they would consider fracking when voting, and identified a need for more research on fracking in South Africa. Expressed research needs focused heavily on environmental impacts, especially water, in addition to the welfare of local citizens and their communities.