GREEN RIVER -- Devon Energy Co. officials are proposing to conduct a small seismic survey near Pine Mountain as part of the company's ongoing natural gas exploration work in southern Sweetwater County.

The Bureau of Land Management said the Oklahoma-based Devon Energy is seeking federal permission to operate a combined helicopter/buggy, three-dimensional seismic survey within an approximately 30 square-mile area south of Rock Springs.

The project area is located west of State Highway 430 in the Horseshoe Basin and Four J Basin area and east of Pine Mountain, a popular recreation area near the Wyoming/Utah border.

Devon officials said the mapping proposal will help the company collect data to determine and evaluate potential future drilling operations on company leases in the area.

The Horseshoe Basin 3-D Seismic Survey Project will compliment Devon's other, ongoing three-dimensional geophysical mapping project near Little Mountain, an area west of Pine Mountain.

The Little Mountain project -- known as Devon's Rubicon 3-D project -- drew stiff opposition from a coalition of hunters and blue-collar workers in southwest Wyoming and Gov. Dave Freudenthal when announced earlier this year.

Sportsmen worried the seismic project could disrupt fall hunting on Little Mountain, which, like Pine Mountain, is a popular recreation site for area residents and big game hunters in particular.

The company received the go-ahead for the Rubicon project after agreeing to discontinue all helicopter activity by Aug. 31, prior to the beginning of archery season.

BLM officials said in a scoping statement that in order to reduce potential environmental impacts in inaccessible areas, Devon is proposing to conduct heli-portable drilling and recording techniques, including shothole/dynamite techniques, within about 60 percent of the Horseshoe Basin project area.

Vibrating buggies will be used for 3-D mapping in the remainder of the approximately 18,000-acre project area, mostly on the east side, according to plans.

Devon is proposing to divide the project into five phases. Archeological, wildlife and vegetation surveys would begin in August under the proposal.

Those surveys would be followed by 3-D seismic activities that would run from mid-September through Nov. 15, or from July 15, 2009 through Aug. 31, 2009, depending on the weather.

Many locals spoke against a gravel pit project proposed for Pine Mountain last year, which drew the ire of area residents who worried the project would impact migrating big game animals and do possible damage to the mountain's top soil and watershed.

Southwest Wyoming Bureau reporter Jeff Gearino can be reached at 307-875-5359 or at gearinotribcsp.com.