WASHINGTON - Two oil and gas lease sales in Colorado and Utah this month are examples of how the Bush administration's focus on oil and gas is opening hundreds of thousands of acres to drilling at the expense of fish and wildlife habitat, said Brian O'Donnell, director of Trout Unlimited's public lands initiative.

An auction in Utah today will be the largest government lease sale in state history. Another in Colorado last week was one of the largest on record there. Both push into sensitive lands, including habitat for endangered ferrets in Colorado and parcels in Utah known for Indian rock art and scenic views.

The Bureau of Land Management, an agency within the Interior Department, is responsible for managing energy and mineral rights, wilderness, wildlife habitat and historical and archaeological sites on millions of acres of public lands, mostly in the West.

Hunting and fishing groups say energy development shouldn't be the BLM's dominant activity. But while President Bush's proposed 2007 budget asks for $25.4 million in new money for the oil and gas program, including $9.2 million to expedite energy permits, it seeks no increase for caring for riverbanks and other wildlife habitat, they say.

BLM spokeswoman Celia Boddington said the agency supports the president's budget.

"We believe we are doing the best possible job of attending to our various responsibilities in accordance with our multiple use mandate," Boddington said.

Hunting and fishing groups are trying to make the case in Congress that the BLM could do better.

In a letter to leaders of the House and Senate appropriations committees this month, the groups argue drilling is intensifying the stresses on key fish and wildlife populations in the West.

"With thousands of wells planned in habitats that support fish and game populations, more attention is essential," the letter reads.

Some lawmakers already are pressing the BLM to take care when it selects parcels for drilling.

"What I have seen in Colorado … is cause for alarm," said Sen. Ken Salazar, D-Colo.

But with energy prices soaring, many others are pressing for more domestic oil, not less.

"I'm a proponent of alternative fuels and energy, but in the short term, if we want to bring down the price of gas, we need to get more of it out of the ground," said Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah.

"Our nation has some very tough regulations in place to protect our environment and our wildlife, which allows us to meet our energy needs and be responsible stewards at the same time," he said.