Wilderness issues dominated the public's comments surrounding a forthcoming management plan for the Bighorn National Forest, and planners are considering adding one wilderness area to the forest as a result.

Nearly twice as many people submitting comments from the four-county area surrounding the Bighorn favored an option designating additional wilderness than those who did not.

"There was a little bit more local support than we expected (for the wilderness option)," said Bernie Bornong, forest planner.

As a result, the Forest Service is considering revising its preferred management plan - which originally did not call for further wilderness designation - to include a new wilderness area, he said. It's in the Rock Creek area.

The 1.1 million-acre Bighorn National Forest currently has just one designated wilderness area - the 189,000-acre Cloud Peak Wilderness. Wilderness designation carries with it significant restrictions on human activity, with most uses banned except low-impact activities such as hiking.

One option not favored by the Forest Service, Alternative C, calls for protection of 254,240 acres in the forest for its roadless characteristics - far more than any of the other alternatives.

Of those people in the four-county area who commented on the forest plan proposal, 46.6 percent favored Alternative C. The next-highest choice was Alternative E, which opens the most areas of the forest to timber extraction, at 24.7 percent of comments.

From around Wyoming, 81.8 percent of people commenting favored Alternative C, the wilderness choice. The next-highest preference was the agency's preferred plan, Alternative D, garnering 12.5 percent of public comments.

People outside Wyoming also overwhelmingly favored Alternative C, at 78.3 percent. The Forest Service's preferred plan was favored by 15.2 percent of the public outside Wyoming.

In establishing percentages of comments, Bighorn officials counted only "unique" comments from about 400 e-mails, conversations and letters.

About 18,000 comments were generated via e-mail from certain Web sites, nearly all supporting Alternative C. Those e-mails said basically the same thing, Bornong said.

"They were like one comment received 11,000 times," he said, referring to the number of comments received from one Website.

But Liz Howell, president of the Wyoming Wilderness Society, said those e-mails - which would have rendered Alternative C the favored choice by 97 percent of people - should be counted along with the others.

"They had individual names and addresses," she said. "Individual people think this for the forest, and they just blew it off. I'm a little ashamed of the Bighorn for blowing off a huge public effort."

Ernie Schmidt, president of the Wyoming Timber Industry Association, has said the Bighorn should be managed to protect trees against disease and insect infestation, and the best way to do that is through timber harvest.

"The best alternative for managing the forest and creating a healthy forest is Alternative E," he said. "Locking everything up for wilderness is just going to lead to fire and disease. There's certain numbers of people want that to happen, and so I disagree with them."

Edward and Rosemary Schunk of Big Horn agree.

"We support the Healthy Forest Initiative to aggressively harvest aged and diseased timber to return the forest to a healthy sustainable yield and lessen the chances of disastrous wildfire," the two wrote. "The Cloud Peak Wilderness is a reasonable and adequate amount of wilderness for the Big Horns. There is no need for more wilderness. Everything outside of the Cloud Peak Wilderness should be managed for multiple use."

State Sen. Bruce Burns and state Reps. Jerry Iekel, Rosie Burger and Doug Osborne, who represent areas around the Bighorn, wrote favoring Alternative E.

"Our preference for this plan is based on utilization of resources, allowing for multiple use, and harvesting vs. burning as a preferred management technique for the control of density, insects and disease," the four wrote.

Judy Ward of Sheridan wrote favoring Alternative D, which would designate the third-highest number of acres for timber harvest, and the third-highest number for roadless protection.

"Because management of wilderness areas is so constrained, I feel that such designation at this point is premature, especially at the percentages indicated in Alternative C," Ward wrote.

Bruce Fauskee of Powell wrote in favor of Alternative C, saying he treasures the quiet solitude, and said no new roads should be opened to off-road vehicle use.

Joseph Winkler of Worland also wrote in favor of Alternative C.

"Let's give more people the opportunity to get away from the sound of cattle and the sight of logging roads," he wrote. "I have never heard of anyone driving hundreds of miles to look at a cow or a clear cut area of mountainside. Recreation in the form of camping, sightseeing, hunting and fishing have already become more important than agriculture and lumber. Let's plan for the future and not be looking back at the past."

The public comment period ended Sept. 30.

Bornong said the agency is now making changes to the agency's preferred plan. He said within the next few weeks the agency will likely have an idea of how that alternative will be changed and what the effects of those changes will be.

A final decision is expected this fall.

Alternatives at a glance

Here are details of the management options for the Bighorn National Forest. The Forest Service's preference is Alternative D; the agency is revising that alternative.

Acres suited to timber harvest

* No action: 262,062 - 36 percent

* Alternative A: 271,895 - 37 percent

* Alternative B: 124,521 - 17 percent

* Alternative C: 62,093 - 9 percent

* Alternative D: 184,606 - 25 percent

* Alternative E: 305,535 - 42 percent

(Percentages are percent of the forest that is "treed," which is about 60 percent of the 1.1 million acres.)

Acres protected as roadless

* No action: 34,000 - 9 percent

* Alternative A: 76,300 - 20 percent

* Alternative B: 142,256 - 37 percent

* Alternative C: 254,240 - 67 percent

* Alternative D: 94,024 - 25 percent

* Alternative E: 53,891 - 15 percent

(Acres listed are those retaining roadless characteristics. Percentages are in relation to the 2003 inventoried roadless areas, not the entire forest.)

Source: Draft environmental impact statement

What's next

* Having reviewed comments on a draft environmental impact statement for the Bighorn National Forest plan, the Forest Service is now making changes to its preferred management option.

* Within the next few weeks the agency will likely have an idea of how its plan will be changed and what the effects of those changes will be, officials say.

* A final decision is expected this fall.

Environmental reporter Whitney Royster can be reached at (307) 734-0260 or at royster@trib.com.