LANDER -- When it comes to energy development in the Wyoming Range, do residents of the Equality State have a say in the matter?

At least one cattle rancher in Daniel is beginning to wonder.

If the federal government sells oil and gas leases in the Bridger-Teton National Forest, could Wyoming residents -- even if a majority agree they don't want drilling there -- do anything at all to stop it?

For J.J. Healy, who runs a cow-calf operation near a proposed drilling site south of Bondurant, these are two of the most basic questions that emerge for him when he considers the big picture.

Today, if he looks out his ranch window, he'll see a familiar panorama: rolling, sage-speckled hills, behind them a slow dip into a hay meadow, and beyond that the gentle, but majestic rise of the wooded and snow-covered peaks of the Wyoming Range.

What Healey sees has been relatively untouched by industrialization thus far. That holds true for most of the range, but recent plans to develop gas leases in this mountain forest would change everything, he said.

Houston-based Plains Exploration and Production Co. recently released an expanded plan for a potential 17-pad, 136-well gas field operation in the Upper Hoback River Basin, right up the road from Healy's place.

Plains intends to fully develop some of its leases on the eastern slope of the range, a step that Gov. Dave Freudenthal has characterized in the past as the "first domino" toward industrialization of the national forest.

The governor has repeatedly expressed disappointment that the Forest Service has been, from his perspective, less than eager to accommodate public concern about new drilling in the Wyoming Range -- which he says is one of Wyoming's most cherished and valuable places for fishing, hunting and outdoor recreation.

But Freudenthal has also admitted that a state governor potentially has little influence over development plans on federal lands.

In light of that quandary, Healy posed a string of questions the Wyoming Range issue has raised for him:

If Wyoming citizens share the governor's desire to stop new drilling projects in the Wyoming Range, does it even matter?

"Does Wyoming have a voice?" Healy said. "Is there a true and fair public comment process in any sort of development like this? Do we actually have states' rights? Is there anything we can do, or are we just spitting at the wind?"

Most people working to protect the Wyoming Range ultimately answer those questions the same way Healy does: Yes, Wyomingites can make a difference -- it just might take longer than they'd like.

"I think Wyoming has a say," said Dan Smitherman, an outfitter in Bondurant and member of Citizens Protecting the Wyoming Range. "The significance of bringing outfitters and conservationists and other diverse groups together is unprecedented in Wyoming, and as a result the issue is getting attention."

Smitherman said he believes in the democratic process going on right now, even if it's flawed.

And it's still premature, he said, to make any judgments regarding the success or failure of this "unprecedented" campaign. Public officials are starting to openly acknowledge that few Wyomingites, outside of those in the energy industry, are in favor of more drilling in the Wyoming Range, and that's a positive development, he said.

"Whether we're ultimately successful in doing what we want to do -- and I believe we will be -- in the minimum, we'll at least get the process refined," Smitherman said. "I'm cautiously optimistic, but there's a long way to go. We really just started."

Buyout option

Pete Douglas, 83, is one of three co-owners of Stanley Energy Inc., a hydrocarbon exploration company, based in Denver, which owns about half of the contested 44,700 acres of oil and gas leases in the Bridger-Teton National Forest, on the eastern slope of the Wyoming Range.

Because of his age, he said, drilling for gas in the Wyoming Range will probably be his last exploration venture, granted the leases are legitimized.

"The Bridger-Teton would be my last hurrah," he said.

Because the nation is currently dependent on foreign oil, and prices keep rising, it is important that U.S. companies be allowed to ramp up domestic energy production, Douglas said. And it looks as if the Wyoming Range is where some of that new production can come from.

"If you're going to shut down opportunity, you're going to shut down the likeliness of (energy) independence," he said. "Gas is an option -- a good energy option. It's clean, cleaner than coal and oil. I think we've got to do everything we can, with reasonable diligence and care, to develop clean energy."

Stanley has proposed a field development program on 29,000 acres in the Wyoming Range with eight 50-acre drill pads, and up to 25 wells directionally drilled from each pad, for a total of 400 acres of pad space.

Douglas has met with many of the people and organizations that oppose his company's drilling plans, he said, including Freudenthal, U.S. Sen. John Barrasso, representatives of Trout Unlimited and the Wyoming Outdoor Council.

"Obviously they disagree with the business I'm in," Douglas said. "But all of the meetings have been civil, balanced and cordial."

Douglas is in favor of the Forest Service doing its updated analysis of the possible environmental impacts of gas development on the contested leases, he said, because he thinks it's a "fair and reasonable" way to proceed.

"We legitimately acquired all of those acres, which the BLM put up at an auction. The Forest Service will determine what they determine," he said. "Whatever the decision is, whether it's for or against our interests, of course we'll abide by it."

But Barrasso hopes to create a third option for Stanley Energy and others. Even if the leases prove to be legitimate, Barrasso has been working to create a scenario where those leases can be bought out, at a fair price to the companies, and retired permanently.

"This is something that (the late) Sen. Thomas had worked on initially," said Barrasso, who replaced Thomas after he died last summer. "I visited his notes and developed it from there."

The Wyoming Range Legacy Act, which Barrasso introduced in the Senate in October, would prohibit future oil and gas leases on 1.2 million acres of the Wyoming Range, and create a process to buy out existing leases.

"To me, the Wyoming Range is a very important part of the state," Barrasso said. "It's part of our recreational history, our ranching heritage. It's important for hunting and important to outfitters."

Barrasso supports multiple use of Wyoming's lands, he said, and this bill would be part of that. Energy development is a "proud" part of Wyoming and is important to the nation, he said, but equally important are the extraordinary natural landscapes in the state that provide unique opportunities for hunting, tourism, recreation and ranching.

"This bill enhances the recreational role (of the Wyoming Range), to ensure that this incredible play area will be preserved for future generations."

Barrasso said he expects the bill to get a hearing in a Senate subcommittee sometime in March, after which it will be forwarded to the full committee, revised, voted upon and then sent to the Senate floor for debate.

Tom Reed of Trout Unlimited said he believes if the leases are determined to be legitimate, the buyout option could be made appealing to the oil and gas lease holders. It's just a matter of coming up with the right price.

"If we had the opportunity to go out and fundraise, I think we could come up with something that would look pretty attractive for their bottom lines," Reed said.

Douglas, however, expressed serious doubt that his firm would be interested in such an offer, but didn't rule it out completely.

'A slap in the face'

The Plains bid for potential full-field development, coupled with Stanley's proposal for a 181-well operation just to the south -- when taken in the context of Barrasso's legislation and the wishes of the state's governor -- seem, to Healy, almost like insults hurled at his state from outsiders.

"It's almost a slap in the face for Wyoming," Healy said. "They're well aware of what the state is trying to do, but they're saying, 'We don't care."'

Reed echoed Healy's point.

"Wyoming people, its governor and senator have come up with a creative solution to protect the Wyoming Range, and a couple out-of-state companies are coming in and trying to drill," Reed said. "It's like they're thumbing their noses at (the state). It's disappointing to see that kind of attitude, especially after Wyoming has contributed so much to the nation."

But developing legitimate gas leases is not an attitude, industry officials say: It's a business. Business that is important for the state, as well as the nation.

Bruce Hinchey, president of the Petroleum Association of Wyoming, indicated there might be some room for compromise on the Wyoming Range, if the side working to protect it would back down from its total-ban approach.

"We're willing to support certain areas being protected for scenic value, but we don't support the idea that all of it should be off limits," Hinchey said. "As we continue to add more and more acreages to the 'off-limits' category, it just defeats the purpose for the country in trying to meet its energy needs and become energy independent."

Do Wyoming people have a voice when it comes to the development of federally controlled lands? Yes, they do, Hinchey said, just like industry does.

Citizens can influence the process through the same avenues that large companies and organizations do, he said: They can attend public hearings, send in written comments during official comment periods and work with their county commissioners to help them contribute feedback -- all of which are effective, and all of which ensure that when all is said and done, the will of the people is heard.

"An organization like us can only submit one comment," he said. "But each individual citizen can submit one, if they wish."

Environment reporter Chris Merrill can be reached at chris.merrill@trib.com.