But recently, just when it seemed wildlife was losing out at every turn, a trio of Western Republican lawmakers stepped forward to amplify the collective voice of the region's sportsmen by declaring a handful of special places too important to sacrifice to overzealous development of oil and gas reserves in the Rockies.

For instance, U.S. Sen. Craig Thomas, R-Wyo., made public recently his objection to unchecked energy develop- ment on most U.S. Forest Service land in his state. This includes much of the Wyoming Range in the Bridger-Teton National Forest, home to three of the four cutthroat trout subspecies native to the state, as well as some of Wyoming's healthiest deer and elk herds.

And in New Mexico, U.S. Rep. Heather Wilson, a long-time proponent of gas and oil development in her state, has joined with Rep. Tom Udall, D-N.M., and sportsmen wishing to set aside the renowned Valle Vidal from energy extraction. Home to the state's once-in-a-lifetime trophy elk hunt and to New Mexico's strongest populations of native Rio Grande cutthroat trout, the Valle Vidal is a sportmen's paradise. Wilson's support for its protection is a boon to all anglers and hunters who value its wildlife and water resources.

Finally, U.S. Sen. Conrad Burns, R-Mont., himself a proponent of energy exploration and development, noted the above-ground resources along Montana's Rocky Mountain Front when he drafted legislation last week that, if approved by Congress, will forever protect hunting and angling opportunities in that amazing place, as well as its pristine waterways.

Thankfully, for the sake of the West's last, best places, our lawmakers are getting the message from anglers and hunters that our sporting heritage is at stake, and that not all energy development is good development.

In places like the Valle Vidal, Rocky Mountain Front and the Wyoming Range the long-term, above-ground resources are simply too important to sacrifice to roads, pipelines, drilling rigs and other associated drilling infrastructure. Unfortunately, there are scores of other very special and unique places that need similar protection if anglers and hunters are to be able to hand their pastimes down to new generations of sportsmen.

For example, in Utah, tributary streams to the state's most popular trout fishery, Strawberry Reservoir, could be in jeopardy thanks to seemingly imminent energy development, and the nearby Diamond Fork watershed faces a similar fate.

In fact, 85 percent of the land sitting over known energy reserves in the West is already leased for oil and gas development. What's more, the pace at which the government is leasing public land to energy interests is well above the historical average.

Hunters and anglers in Utah are in need of the kind of trend-bucking help their fellow sportsmen have received in Montana, Wyoming and New Mexico - they need help from lawmakers to defend wild resources that, given the opportunity, will continue to contribute to the state's economy and culture for generations to come.

Thankfully, three prominent lawmakers in the West have answered the call. This could be the turning point that sportsmen have been awaiting, the time when lawmakers consider wildlife habitat and the concerns of all public lands users in balance with the desires of industry. Let's hope this is the start of a new trend among Western legislators.

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Chris Hunt is the communications director for Trout Unlimited's public lands initiative.