The Eastern Shoshone and the Northern Arapaho business council blasted the Bureau of Land Management's draft plan to open the Jack Morrow Hills to energy development, because the plan provides inadequate protections of Native American holy sites.

Indeed, the tribes called for a complete closure of the Jack Morrow Hills area to further oil and gas, and mining exploration and development. "Protecting the area's unique wildlife, ecology, historical and cultural wealth for the benefit of future generations - Indian and non-Indian alike - far outweighs the minor and short-term mineral potential of the area," wrote tribal leaders.

That goes quite a bit beyond the alternatives considered by the BLM, according to Field Office Manager Ted Murphy.

The preferred alternative by the BLM, outlined in the draft Environmental Impact Statement for the Jack Morrow Hills, will allow for 115 exploration wells and 90 development wells, for a total of 205 wells. All would be drilled within the planning area of the Jack Morrow Hills Coordinated Activity Plan (CAP). That should result in 107 new wells in production, the document said.

It would also allow drilling up to 50 exploratory coalbed methane development wells over the next 20 years.

The 620,000-acre Jack Morrow Hills is home to the largest migratory game herd in the lower 48 states; the largest desert elk herd in the world; the largest active sand dune in North America; seven wilderness study areas; the Oregon, Mormon and California pioneer trails; and many Indian holy sites.

The area is also prized, however, by energy companies for the approximately 150 trillion cubic feet of natural gas and large reserves of coal and oil.

Identical letters were sent from the business councils to Renee Dana, project leader for the BLM Rock Springs Field Office, earlier this month.

"To date, we believe that the Bureau of Land Management has produced a plan that fails to protect Native American holy sites and parts of the Jack Morrow Hills Study Area that were used by our ancestors for hunting, medicine gathering and spiritual purposes," wrote Carlton Underwood for the Northern Arapaho and Vernon Hill for the Eastern Shoshone, both located on the Wind River Indian Reservation.

Specific complaints included:

- The BLM has systematically provided for less protection for Native American cultural and spiritual sites than for other resources in the Red Desert.

- The BLM fails to provide the necessary agency support for study and identification of these important sites, as it does for other resources.

- Individual sites need varying degrees of protection, rather than a one-size fits all approach of a 1,000-foot buffer zone. The tribes urged BLM to consult with the tribes to develop a ranking of protection strategies.

- The BLM fails to protect the view sheds of Indian Gap Trail, the Boars Tusk, other features and the landscape of the Red Desert.

- Only 2 percent of the Red Desert has been surveyed for cultural resources. The tribes recommend the most protective strategies to prevent disturbance to sites yet undiscovered.

- The BLM's preferred alternative is unacceptable as a plan for protecting cultural and spiritual sites.

- Communication infrastructure should be limited on high points.

- Agency enforcement should be increased to ensure that poachers of artifacts are deterred or prosecuted.

Dean Goggles, a Northern Arapaho councilman, said the tribes have not received a response from the BLM.

BLM's Murphy said his staff has not yet had a chance to respond to the letter, but it will be considered as part of the public comment on the draft plan for Jack Morrow Hills. "We do consult with the tribes on matters of cultural and religious sites," he said. The Jack Morrow Hills team will meet this week to begin reviewing comments and develop responses. The goal of the Rock Springs office is to develop a record of decision by September.