Star-Tribune Editorial Board

It's taken many diverse interests working together to get a bill to protect 1.2 million acres of the Wyoming Range introduced in Congress.

While Sen. John Barrasso, the bill's sponsor, and supporters deserve to be commended for their work thus far, there's a lot left to be done. A fundamental problem remains unresolved: What will happen to existing, undeveloped leases on 44,600 acres that have been suspended?

Gov. Dave Freudenthal said the federal government should cancel the leases sold by the Bureau of Land Management and offer companies a refund. He's right.

As the governor noted, the leases should never have been issued in the first place. A federal appeals board has put the leases on hold, due to inadequate environmental review of the area.

In the words of Freudenthal, the feds should "clean up their own mess."

The decision whether to do the right thing and cancel the leases is up to Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne and Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns, who oversee the BLM and U.S. Forest Service, respectively. The officials have not yet responded to Freudenthal's request.

If the feds decide not to act, Barrasso said he still believes the stakeholders will work out a "creative solution" -- one that the freshman senator suggested would be for conservation groups and others to buy back the leases.

Several groups said they are willing to explore that option, but it remains an expensive proposition. It should take a back seat to Freudenthal's proposal.

Another potential roadblock for the bill is getting the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee to schedule a hearing. The panel's chairman, Sen. Jeff Bingaman, D-N.M., doesn't have any sense of urgency to begin the process, and the Wyoming Range bill could be buried under a backlog of land and energy legislation.

Sen. Mike Enzi is a co-sponsor of Barrasso's bill, and his experience working with the opposing party may come in handy. Freudenthal, a Democrat, could also press the case with Bingaman to recognize what a landmark bill the Wyoming Range measure represents.

Protecting the area from new energy development was set in motion by the late Sen. Craig Thomas, who listened to a unique coalition of interests that aren't used to all being on the same side: Republicans, Democrats, conservationists, sportsmen, business leaders, and the tourism industry. Barrasso, appointed by Freudenthal to replace Thomas until the next election, wisely picked up the torch and made the comprehensive Wyoming Range bill his first piece of legislation.

The bill demonstrates that diverse groups can put aside their differences to protect a special place in Wyoming. While the energy industry has raised some objections to the bill -- including the Petroleum Association of Wyoming's complaint that it is "too broad" -- officials concede that it has some good points.

Marc Smith, executive director of the Independent Petroleum Association of Mountain States, said he was relieved that the bill will not prevent the development of long-standing, valid leases. While the energy industry will probably press for revisions, it recognizes the strong support for the measure is a tide it can't turn back.

If the coalition that helped craft the bill sticks together to get it signed into law, the Wyoming Range will be enjoyed in its current condition for generations to come. It will be a testament to the state's belief that energy development can be effectively managed without sacrificing recreation, conservation and tourism interests.