BOB MOEN Associated Press writer | Posted: Wednesday, April 23, 2008 12:00 am
CHEYENNE - The U.S. Forest Service has allowed an energy company too much influence over proposed oil and gas leasing in a scenic mountain range in western Wyoming, Gov. Dave Freudenthal said.
In a letter dated Monday to the Forest Service's regional forester, Freudenthal said the agency has allowed Stanley Energy Inc. of Denver to "guide and fund" planning and studies on whether leasing should be authorized in the Wyoming Range, a popular hunting and recreation area within the Bridger-Teton National Forest.
Saying the matter raised concern about "good governance," Freudenthal asked that the Forest Service stop the environmental study and either start over or take another approach.
Erin O'Connor, spokeswoman for the Forest Service's Intermountain Region office in Ogden, Utah, said the agency has corrected the issue and will not stop the study.
Officials with Stanley Energy did not immediately return phone messages Tuesday seeking comment.
Freudenthal said Stanley was paying for an environmental study of leases that Stanley and other companies were seeking to bid on and was given authority to help select a consultant for the study.
Freudenthal also noted that he had heard that the federal agency recently rescinded an arrangement allowing Stanley and its attorneys to participate in bimonthly meetings and phone calls on the Wyoming Range leases.
"This gesture implicitly acknowledges the Stanley's participation to date has been suspect," the governor wrote. "… Stanley and its attorneys may have gone belowdecks, but this still looks like a ship built with their timber."
O'Connor said the Forest Service stopped allowing Stanley Energy's participation in the meetings last week when it became clear that the company's involvement was improper.
It is not unusual for a company with an interest in leases to pay for an environmental study, she said. O'Connor noted that the Forest Service selected a consultant different from the one Stanley Energy recommended.
The Forest Service is conducting an environmental study on whether to allow oil and gas leasing on 44,720 acres in and around the Wyoming Range. The agency had earlier identified the acreage for leasing but was forced to study how oil and gas drilling might impact the environment after conservation groups protested.
Freudenthal, some local residents and other elected officials say the range should be off limits to energy development because of its significant recreation and scenic value. Oil and gas companies maintain they can drill on the outer edges of the mountain range with minimal disturbance.
Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., has introduced a bill in Congress that would prevent oil and gas drilling on 1.2 million acres in the Wyoming Range.
The Bush administration estimates the area covered by the bill contains 8.8 trillion cubic feet of natural gas and 331 million barrels of oil.
* Last we knew: The U.S. Forest Service was studying a plan to issue oil and gas leases in the Wyoming Range.
* The latest: Gov. Dave Freudenthal charged that the agency allowed an energy company too much influence in the study and said it should be stopped.
* What's next: The Forest Service says it has corrected the problem and will continue the study.]]->