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Rawlins, WY - In an overwhelming outpouring of public sentiment, citizens have demanded a balanced approach to management of public lands here in Wyoming. Instead of unfettered oil and gas development, citizens have asked for controlled development of energy resources along with protection for some of the last wild places within the Great Divide. Residents from across the United States responded to the Bureau of Land Management's (BLM's) call for comments on the revision of the Great Divide Resource Management Plan. This area is managed by the Rawlins BLM, covers 4 million acres of public land including the eastern half of the Red Desert and the majority of the unique Great Divide Basin, the only place in the Americas where the Continental Divide splits and rejoins. The resource area stretches across isolated mountain ranges and vast desert basins and provides outstanding recreational opportunities. It is a land with a colorful past, containing the ancestral homelands of the Shoshone and Ute peoples and the Overland and Cherokee trails traveled by pioneers. The Great Divide also boasts spectacular landscapes proposed for wilderness and mineral rich sensitive wildlife habitat coveted by the oil and gas industry.

An impressive 10,496 responses were received by the BLM from citizens of Wyoming and the nation over the last several months. The overwhelming majority of respondents voiced a desire for resource conservation in the Great Divide area. Some 9,892 comments (94%) fully supported the adoption of the citizens' Western Heritage Alternative, which envisions a landscape where well-planned development is compatible with wildlife and public recreation. Protection of wildlife and their habitat, expansion of Wilderness Study Areas, protection of roadless areas, and use of directional drilling techniques were also high on the priority list of many citizens, receiving 10,280, 10,250, 5,759, and 5,754 comments respectively. Only 43 of the comments received by BLM advocated wide-ranging oil and gas development. Many of these were submitted by special interests that stand to profit from extensive of public lands, such as oil and gas producers.

"The message is clear, the owners of these lands are demanding that the special values of the Great Divide be protected," said Angie Young of Biodiversity Conservation Alliance, a Laramie-based conservation group. "Now we'll see whether the BLM, under the anti-environmental Bush Administration, will heed the wishes of the public, or sacrifice even more of Wyoming's wild places to unbridled oil and gas development,"

"The big game populations of the Great Divide are a treasure of national significance. They are an integral part of Wyoming's rich wildlife heritage, and the revenue they generate through hunting and wildlife viewing puts millions of dollars into the Wyoming economy," added Larry Baesler of the Wyoming Wildlife Federation. "As sportsmen, we must protect our wildlife and the unique wild places in which they are found in order to ensure our hunting heritage for the generations to come."

The Western Heritage Alternative (backed by local businesses, hunters and conservationists) focuses on sustainability. Under the plan, development would occur in a way that is compatible with maintaining scenic landscapes, wide-open spaces, outstanding recreation opportunities, crucial wildlife habitat, and important historical and cultural sites. The plan achieves this balance by 1) calling for lasting protection of areas with high natural and recreational value such as Adobe Town and the Pedro Mountains, 2) modifying development plans so that wildlife can flourish, and habitat destruction is avoided in sensitive areas, 3) mandating use of the best available technology (like directional drilling) to minimize landscape impact, and 4) allowing oil and gas development to proceed only in well-managed stages and with strong protections to prevent water and air pollution.

"We should be selective about the amount and location of oil and gas developments. This means not disrupting millions of acres with almost ten thousands wells," said Tova Woyciechowicz of the Wyoming Outdoor Council. "The Western Heritage Alternative provides a much-needed balance between environmental and economic interests."

"By a ratio of about 230 to 1, citizens asked the BLM to adopt the Western Heritage alternative," added Young.

"This Alternative for management of the Great Divide is about finding a reasonable balance among the competing uses of the public lands in Wyoming. We need to make sure that these wide open landscapes and spectacular wildlife values cherished by the people of Wyoming and by others are not lost forever to a spasm of boom and bust development," said Kate Zimmerman of the National Wildlife Federation. "Wyoming deserves well-managed, tiered development of its energy resources in order to secure both its economic and environmental future," she added.

The Great Divide Resource Management plan is one of several major long-term plans across Wyoming that the Bush Administration has fast-tracked to expedite oil and gas development. The draft plan is expected to be released late this year.