ROCK SPRINGS - A seismic survey that begins this month for natural gas resources in the Little Mountain area of Sweetwater County will be halted before hunting begins in the area, federal officials said.

The seismic mapping project drew the anxiety of Gov. Dave Freudenthal when proposed in May by the Oklahoma-based Devon Energy Co. The governor expressed concerns to federal officials about how the seismic survey might affect the quality of hunting on Little Mountain.

Bowhunting and antelope seasons begin in September in the area and are followed by elk and mule deer seasons in October.

The mountain is home to several premier hunting areas for elk and deer; longtime hunters say permits are very hard to draw.

Devon officials recently received U.S. Bureau of Land Management permission to begin work on the three-dimensional geophysical mapping project, according to the agency's environmental assessment for the Rubicon 3-D project.

The project is located on about 42 square miles of public and private lands near U.S. Highway 191. The area includes the BLM's Sugarloaf Special Management Area, and the Currant Creek Area of Critical Environmental Concern.

The environmental assessment said the company will split the work on the project - estimated at between 70 and 90 days - over two years.

The company will discontinue all helicopter activity by Aug. 31, a move the EA said should reduce potential interference with the archery hunting season, which begins Sept. 1 on Little Mountain.

The remainder of the work is scheduled for completion by Aug. 31, 2009, according to plans.

Devon officials proposed the three-dimensional survey as part of a small, controversial drilling project near Little Mountain, located 40 miles south of Rock Springs.

The survey is part of Devon's proposal last year to drill two exploratory wildcat wells known as Rubicon wells 105 and 106 near Little Mountain, a popular hunting and recreation area near the Flaming Gorge Reservoir.

Company officials have said the seismic mapping will help best determine well pad locations for the project.

The project met with stiff opposition when announced, however, from a coalition of hunters, people of faith and blue-collar workers. The proposal was also panned by Freudenthal in a letter to the BLM in March.

BLM officials said the seismic work will be conducted using only helicopter-transported drilling and recording equipment in an effort to decrease environmental impacts. Light trucks and all-terrain vehicles will be used only where necessary to transport people and equipment on existing roads and trails.

Work will be ongoing every day in August. There will be no drilling within the Currant Creek Area of Critical Environmental Concern, according to plans.

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