JACKSON - As a general rule, national forests should be off-limits to oil and gas drilling, U.S. Sen. Craig Thomas said Saturday.

The Republican senator made his comments after a tour of the Hoback Ranches subdivision near Bondurant, about 35 miles southeast of Jackson. That area, along with the Wyoming Range to the south, has existing leases on the public lands but no permits to drill have been issued.

"Frankly, even though it's been leased, my general feeling is we shouldn't be drilling in national forests," Thomas said.

He said national forests have already been set aside as areas with special scenic, recreational and historic qualities.

"They're there for special reasons and I don't think we should diminish those reasons," he said.

Thomas said he intends to work with Bridger-Teton and Shoshone national forest officials during their forest plan revision to seek protections of national forest lands moving forward. In the meantime, Thomas said he hopes land managers will carefully study applications for permits to drill on existing leases on forests.

"I would hope they would come to the conclusion in this instance it's not necessary to drill in this area," he said. Thomas said lands in the Wyoming Range contain roadless areas, and "even if you do it (drilling) well, you're changing the character of these lands."

He also said he intends to talk to senators from neighboring states about the idea.

Wyoming needs to be cognizant of how it wants to look in 30 years when determining what areas should be protected, particularly as energy development expands, he said.

"It's good, I think, to raise the point early," he said.

Existing drilling operations in the Wyoming Range should be allowed to continue, he said.

Thomas, Wyoming's senior senator, made his comments at a time when energy drilling is robust nationwide and more and more land is being eyed for development. Several years ago, he said energy exploration should not be allowed on a large swath of the Bridger-Teton near Jackson. More recently he worked to scale down a 175,000-acre area in the Wyoming Range eyed for drilling to 44,000 acres offered for lease sale.

Those lands, he now says, should be off-limits to more drill rigs.

"If you continue to expand drilling," he said, "it's going to make an impact on the overall thing."

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