By Jeff Gearino
GREEN RIVER — Gov. Dave Freudenthal said federal land managers made a prudent choice to hit the pause button on possible energy development on Little Mountain south of Rock Springs after the agency deferred leasing some parcels in the area.

But state industry officials said they were disappointed in the U.S. Bureau of Land Management’s decision Monday to pull about 16,000 acres in the Little Mountain area from Tuesday’s oil and gas lease sale in Cheyenne.

Freudenthal lauded the BLM’s decision to pull 30 parcels in southwest Wyoming from the lease sale, including 13 parcels on Little Mountain.

He called the deferral a “good first step” in addressing the concerns of sportsmen, blue-collar workers, conservationists and area residents about the state’s ability to protect the Little Mountain area, a popular hunting and recreation zone.

“This is an appropriate response to the public outcry that ensued from hunters and anglers who care deeply about the Little Mountain area,” Freudenthal said in a release. “I appreciate the BLM’s decision to slow down and wait to lease until the potential effects of such leasing on the wildlife and other recreational uses are fully understood and addressed.”

Officials with the Petroleum Association of Wyoming were less enthusiastic about the BLM’s decision. They contend drilling on Little Mountain can be conducted in an environmentally sensitive manner and without significant harm to wildlife and other recreational resources.

“Our reaction is that we very much oppose the 30 oil and gas leases being pulled,” PAW Vice President Cheryl Sorenson said in a phone interview Tuesday. “These oil and gas companies can operate in an environmentally friendly way that very much helps not only wildlife, but the crucial habitat in those areas as well … so we believe there definitely can be a coexistence in those areas.

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