JACKSON - People interested in the future of the Pinedale Anticline will have two more management alternatives to digest as early as October.

The Bureau of Land Management announced Thursday it is crafting two new plans for energy development in the sensitive area based on some public input.

One new alternative calls for a larger "core" area where operators would drill for natural gas, in which seasonal stipulations to protect big game winter range would be waived. That alternative also calls for a suspension of existing energy leases on the east and west sides of the Mesa, also known as the Anticline.

That alternative also includes a "wildlife matrix," designed to specify adaptive management techniques relating to wildlife. It also includes proposals for an on- and off-site mitigation fund.

Steven Hall, spokesman for the BLM in Cheyenne, said that alternative was largely based on input from the Wyoming Game and Fish Department. He said it will include "significant additional protections" for wildlife and wildlife habitat.

A second new alternative will examine full-field development with wildlife stipulations as outlined in the 2000 document guiding development on the Anticline - largely calling for seasonal stipulations to protect wintering wildlife.

Both alternatives are expected to be available for public review in early October, with a comment deadline determine once the alternatives are released.

Chris Mehl with The Wilderness Society said the new alternatives are "disappointing," as they don't address additional public concerns including air quality impacts. He described the proposed new alternatives as a "huge missed opportunity."

He said public comments urged the BLM to slow down its development schedule, and neither new alternative calls for a slowdown.

"It's not too late," he said. "If the BLM is going to spend taxpayer dollars, do it right. Listen to the public and experts, and offer alternatives that address their concerns."

Deena McMullen with Shell Exploration and Production, one of the operators on the Anticline, said the companies support the decision to review two additional alternatives.

"There is a high level of public interest in the (environmental review), and it's important to us that this process is carried out to address additional suggestions about energy development on the Anticline," she said. "This allows the public an opportunity to study the additional alternatives and understand the mitigations we have voluntarily offered, which improve environmental performance and reduce impacts."

She also said the companies hope a "favorable final decision" will come soon so communities and wildlife "can realize the benefits that will result from year-round access."

Year-round access for drilling and other activity on the Anticline has been controversial in recent weeks, as Pinedale elected officials said the community is not seeing the benefit to local businesses from year-round operations.

Earlier this year, the BLM released a draft supplemental environmental study examining a new proposal by operators to extract gas from the Anticline. In that study, the agency looked at three alternatives: a no-action plan; the operators' proposal calling for a 19-square-mile "core" area where seasonal stipulations would be waived, and where reclamation would occur outside those areas; and a scaled-back version of that proposal where operators would be subject to winter restrictions in certain areas.

Operators have said under their proposal they intended to retire leases on the flanks of the Anticline in exchange for intense drilling in the core areas. They also offered a $36 million mitigation fund.

The Pinedale Anticline is a 198,000-acre rise south of Pinedale, and north of the intensely developed Jonah Field. Operators on the Anticline include Shell, Questar Market Resources and Ultra Resources Inc.

There is estimated to be up to 25 trillion cubic feet of natural gas recoverable on the Anticline, making it one of the richest gas fields in the West. That amount could heat 12.5 million homes for 20 years, and generate $8 billion in revenue to Wyoming.

The area is also home to some of the richest wildlife herds in the West.

Public comment on the draft environmental impact statement closed in March, and a final analysis is expected in early 2008.

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