"We feel that given the complexity of the issue and the enormous public interest in the Rocky Mountain Front, it would be better to take a step back and thoroughly evaluate all options," said Celia Boddington, a BLM spokeswoman in Washington, D.C.
BLM work on an environmental impact study for the Front's Blackleaf area, where a Canadian company wanted to drill for gas, has been suspended.
The Front, stretching about 100 miles along the eastern crags of the Rockies south of Glacier National Park, is home to grizzly bears, elk, bighorn sheep and other wildlife.
StarTech Energy Corp. of Calgary, Alberta, wanted to drill in the federally owned Blackleaf area, using leases that predate a 1997 moratorium on federal oil and gas leasing in the Front. The Bush administration's energy plan identifies the Front in Montana as an important source of natural gas, but critics have said it's questionable how much could be extracted economically.
Doug Dafoe, president of StarTech parent Thunder Energy in Calgary, did not immediately return a call Saturday seeking comment about the decision to shelve drilling. That decision came at the "highest levels" of the Interior Department, said Marty Ott, state BLM director.
By halting the environmental impact study, federal officials effectively opened the possibility of alternatives to drilling. They include giving credits to those who hoped to drill - credits that could be used for work in other areas - or having BLM buy the leases.
It is possible the drilling issue could be revisited, and the Blackleaf studies would resume. For that reason, establishing a long-term shield for the area is essential, environmental activists said.
"It's now time for Congress to act to protect these lands and fairly compensate leaseholders by offering a buyout or trade for existing leases," said Gloria Flora, a former Lewis and Clark National Forest supervisor. She held that job in 1997 when she declared the Front off limits to new oil and gas exploration.
"This should be a top priority for the Montana congressional delegation, so that we can put this threat to rest once and for all," Flora said.
Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., has pushed for a lease swap or buyout. Suspension of the BLM's environmental impact study "gives added momentum to that," said spokesman Barrett Kaiser, adding Baucus wants an "ironclad guarantee the Front will be off limits forever."
A petroleum landman who ran unsuccessfully for governor in this year's Republican primary election, Tom Keating of Billings, disputed the federal decision.
"They ought to at least give the facts of the issue" by completing the study, Keating said. Drilling has occurred elsewhere in an environmentally safe manner and the same is possible on the Front, he said, adding Montana needs the jobs and tax revenue from petroleum development.
Boddington said the controversy over drilling made court challenges likely.
"We feel that there may well be better options than currently pursuing the EIS (environmental impact statement)," she said.
Halting the process allows BLM to focus its attention in other areas of possible energy development, she said.
Ott said Assistant Interior Secretary Rebecca Watson will talk about the decision Tuesday at a Billings press conference.
AP reporter John Heilprin contributed to this report.
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