DRILLING  (CONT)

pressured to approve drilling in Valle Vidal.

New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, a Democrat, said Republicans may be realizing the push for energy exploration on public land carries a political cost, though Thomas said it's more a question of balance.

"The Bush administration's drill, drill, drill philosophy is really upsetting many traditional recreationalists in the West," Richardson said. "This will have political repercussions for the Republican Party in the West, and for Republican candidates."

In some cases energy companies are deciding on their own to abandon plans to drill in environmentally sensitive areas.

Questar Corp., a natural gas company, just donated its leases covering 1,500 acres in Montana's Blackleaf area, part of the Rocky Mountain Front, to Trout Unlimited. Questar Executive Vice President Jay B. Neese said the company had tired of the long regulatory process for drilling there and was pursuing more profitable projects. The company is drilling in Wyoming's Upper Green River Valley, home to pronghorn antelope and other important wildlife species, as well as in Colorado, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Texas and Utah.

"We pretty much had moved on, and that was not an area we were interested in," Neese said. "It didn't really affect our drilling plan."

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