CHEYENNE - A new computer program developed in Wyoming helps energy companies mitigate the effects of drilling on the environment.

The program was developed as a result of work by The Nature Conservancy and BP America Production Co. to replace habitat lost from prolific drilling in the natural-gas-rich Jonah Field in southwest Wyoming.

Their effort was to be included as a case study published this month in the scientific journal BioScience.

Joe Kiesecker (Kee-SECKER') of The Nature Conservancy was the lead author of the journal article.

He says the stringent peer review process in getting the article published validates the program for uses in other oil and gas developments.