A controversial plan to allow oil and gas development in the Jack Morrow Hills area of the Red Desert has been approved by the Bureau of Land Management, to the outcry of conservationists.

The plan foresees development of 255 more wells in the 622,000-acre area, although it does not set a cap on the number of wells. Despite about 1,000 protest letters received by the BLM during the planning process, the BLM issued a final decision last week that basically mirrors its original plan.

Joy Owen, statewide coordinator for Friends of the Red Desert, said she was surprised the agency signed off on a plan even after it received so many protests.

"It doesn't seem like they were taken into consideration," she said. Wyoming does a lot for the mineral industry and should also work for protection of special places, she said.

"Special places do a lot for the long-term economic viability, and they are just not being taken seriously," Owen said.

Mike Holbert, Rock Springs BLM field manager, said the protest letters received after the final plan was presented did not present any new information to the agency, and did not show the agency had made any "significant errors."

The final environmental impact statement was released two years ago. The BLM received 1,011 protest letters on that document, Holbert said. During the planning process, about 80,000 comment letters were received, most supporting stronger protection for the Jack Morrow Hills.

The BLM also released an amendment to the Green River resource management plan along with the Jack Morrow Hills decision last week. The amendment explains in broad brush strokes how the BLM will manage for things including sage grouse and recreation, and is intended to address some of the protests.

For example, sage grouse protection will follow state guidelines, and any travel plan will be developed with cooperative groups. The amendment requires "appropriate mitigation" for wildlife protection, but does not specify what that mitigation is.

The amendment updates the 1997 Green River resource management plan, Holbert said, which typically guides development of an area for 15 to 20 years. The amendment is meant to show how oil and gas development will be balanced with other resources.

"Where we've come out in relation to this is, we feel that we've developed a balance that allows the energy push that (the) country is currently undergoing, and we've taken that into consideration and allowed that reasonably within the Jack Morrow Hills, but we also I think have appropriate measures in place to protect the other resources in the Jack Morrow Hills," Holbert said. "It's a good balance between protecting the resource and allowing still energy development."

About 29 percent - 179,000 acres - of the area is designated as not available to oil and gas leasing.

Bruce Hinchey with the Petroleum Association of Wyoming said he was pleased the record of decision was signed.

"I think it's one that we can work with and it should satisfy everyone involved," he said.

Regarding conservationists' concern for wildlife in the area, Hinchey said there has been oil and gas development in the area for years, and energy companies have done a good job protecting animals. There has been development in the area since the 1920s, with 156 wells - 44 producing - there currently.

"The animals, and other animals, out there have been protected pretty well, or we wouldn't have the thriving population that we do," he said.

Dave Gowdey, executive director of the Wyoming Wildlife Federation, said the area is home to "special wildlife values," including the Steamboat elk herd, which he called "one of the premier hunts in the state." There is also critical winter range for antelope, mule deer and migration corridors, Gowdey said.

"We feel this area is so special it needs to be off limits to oil and gas leasing," Gowdey said. His group is advocating setting aside 400,000 acres in the Red Desert, including areas in the Jack Morrow Hills.

Owen said there were many areas people wanted to see protected that weren't. The Indian Gap Trail is open to surface disturbance, and big game crucial habitat will remain open to strip mining, she said. The Oregon Trail is vulnerable to "thumper" trucks used in seismic exploration and potential damage, she said.

Owen also said areas including the Big Empty and the Honeycomb Butte expansion will be open to oil and gas development with essentially no protection.

"The BLM's final decision failed to adequately respond to the public's desire to protect the Jack Morrow Hills," she said.

The Jack Morrow Hills area contains stark, unique scenery and formations such as the Boar's Tusk and the Killpecker Sand Dunes. It also contains an estimated 315 billion cubic feet of natural gas.

Environmental reporter Whitney Royster can be reached at (307) 734-0260 or at royster@tribcsp.com.