Now we will see if the agency will live up to its "land management" name or continue to be merely a rubber stamp for the Bush administration's push to develop fossil fuels energy at all costs.

The Vernal field office, under a 2006 federal court order to reassess wilderness-quality lands on which the agency had sold illegal drilling leases, has issued a fifth alternative plan. The new plan, which the BLM calls the most restrictive of the five, allows only slightly fewer additional oil and gas wells and only a few hundred fewer acres and miles of trails open to off-highway vehicles.

But with those seemingly minor reductions in motorized travel and drilling, the plan would keep hundreds of thousands of acres of critical wildlife habitat intact. It's a trade-off the BLM should make.

OHV users and energy developers should be willing to accept the plan to protect the migration routes and breeding grounds of herds of mule deer, antelope, bighorn sheep, elk, moose and other animals.

Once such critical wildlife habitat is disrupted, there are fewer animals for humans to hunt, photograph and simply enjoy. Reducing their numbers upsets the ecosystem of the region and may cause irreparable damage to Utah's greatest asset - its outdoor recreation resources.

Since 2000, the nation's land management agency has been all too eager to facilitate energy development without due regard to wildlife and non-motorized recreation. This year the BLM Vernal field office approved 1,015 drilling permits, up from only 237 in 2000. It expects to OK 1,250 next year.

This heedless development frenzy comes at great cost to the fragile desert environment of eastern Utah. The boom in OHV use has also taken a toll. It is in that context that the BLM's choice of alternatives is critical, for it will dictate how the land is used - or abused - for the next 15 to 20 years.

The public can comment on the plan through Jan. 3 at www.blm.gov/ut/st/en/fo/vernal/planning.html, where it can be viewed electronically. Written comments can be sent to: BLM Vernal Field Office, RMP Comments, Attention: Kell Buckner, 170 South 500 East, Vernal, UT, 84078.

Those interested in protecting wildlife, and the land it must have to thrive, should weigh in.