ChimpCo Suspends Plan To Drill 157,000 Acres In Wyoming For OIl/Gas

[hatrack]

"In a significant retreat from the Bush administration's policy of expanding energy production into roadless areas of the West, the Forest Service has suspended plans to open up 157,000 acres of Wyoming land to drilling for oil and natural gas.

The decision marks a big victory for environmental groups in Wyoming and nationwide (Ed. - Yeah, right!), which said the land in Bridger-Teton National Forest was one of the most important wilderness areas in the nation to be marked for drilling, perhaps second only to the Alaska National Wildlife Refuge.

The area affected by Tuesday's move lies directly to the south of Grand Teton National Park and includes extensive stretches of old-growth forests and snow-capped, 10,000-foot peaks.

EDIT

The Forest Service's decision to suspend drilling was announced only hours after Thomas' statement. In a letter to the Bureau of Land Management, which administers the leasing program, Jack Troyer, regional chief of the U.S. Forest Service, said he had decided to "delay implementing that (lease) decision until we can meet with the state and forest personnel and fully understand, if not resolve, the concerns identified."

EDIT

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2004/09/16/MNG7H8PNFH1.DTL

No, no - it's simply ABSURD to suggest any political motivation in the timing of this announcement. Absurd!!