The Washington D.C.-based Wilderness Society surveyed 11 BLM land-use plans affecting more than 30 million acres in Utah, Colorado, New Mexico, Wyoming and Alaska, concluding they will more than triple the number of wells to be drilled.

"In its rush to open more and more Western land to oil and gas development, the Interior Department has essentially abandoned its mandate to manage these lands for a variety of uses, including recreation and conservation," said Nada Culver, a Wilderness Society attorney who analyzed the BLM plans.

"The amount of land dedicated for planned oil and gas development will exclude other uses and will inevitably permanently damage these places. The lack of balance in these plans is shocking," she said.

Two BLM land-use plans in Utah were part of the survey. The environmental group says that, based upon the current draft of its revised resource management plan, the Vernal office will expand drilling by 50 percent, to 8,787 wells. The office also will open 97 percent of its 1.9 million subsurface acres to energy development.

The Price Field Office plan calls for 79 percent of its 2.8 million subsurface acres to be made available for oil and gas development, along with a 25 percent increase in the number of wells to 1,500. But Culver says those numbers do not include a recent proposal for 700 new wells on the West Tavaputs Plateau that is currently being studied.

She called the BLM's land-use proposals in the two Utah field offices "heartbreaking" because of the scenic wonders being threatened - places such as Nine Mile Canyon, Desolation Canyon and the Book Cliffs.

"What's devastating is, they have identified these lands, mapped them and identified potential damage to what are very sensitive areas, and still walked away from them," Culver said. "To me, this is malice aforethought."

State BLM officials accuse the conservation group of exaggerating. Many of the areas open for energy development already had valid, pre-existing leases, said spokeswoman Adrienne Babbitt. The number of wells may have jumped, but the land that's actually available for development hasn't significantly increased.

"There's not that big of a difference in the acreage," she said. "Just because an area is open for development, it doesn't necessarily mean that development is going to happen. And where there is development, it doesn't mean that other uses, such as recreation and conservation, can't exist."

In fact, county officials have accused the BLM of being too restrictive. Carbon County officials late last year complained that the Price land-use plan would harm them economically. But Commissioner Michael Milovich said Thursday the agency is making an honest attempt to address everybody's concerns.

"We don't always agree with the restrictions they want to impose. But having worked first-hand with the people in the [Price Field Office], they are very cognizant of the environmental concerns and are in tune with what the demands are," he said. "They are trying to find a balance."

jbaird@sltrib.com