Caution.

That sums up comments by some of the people at Thursday night's public hearing in Provo about whether Uinta National Forest officials should expand the number of acres where oil and gas drilling are allowed. The Forest Service now allows oil and gas leases on 197,000 acres of the Uinta National Forest, and almost all of those leases have been taken, Dan Dallas, acting supervisor of the forest, has said. The Forest Service is now considering allowing leases on 777,700 of the 897,400 acres of the forest.

Several recent federal laws have required the Forest Service to analyze whether additional acres could be leased for oil and gas drilling. A draft decision will be made by December and a final decision by November 2007.

"I am very, very cautious when to comes to energy exploration because I have seen in the past where it has ruined areas or made them unusable to recreation, so I'm concerned about drilling but not totally opposed either," said Adam Shaffer, an Orem resident.

An hour and a half into the two-hour meeting, Shaffer was one of only 15 people who had come to comment.

"I care very much about the wilderness in Utah, especially the wilderness I can go and visit," he said, adding that he is definitely opposed to allowing any oil or gas drilling near Strawberry Reservoir or Squaw Peak.

Because forest managers have yet to pinpoint new areas where they may allow drilling, if any, Utah County residents should make their voices heard if there are areas where they do not want to see drilling, he said.

"I think everyone in this community should look at the areas they care about and maybe comment on those specific areas, and then the Forest Service would know how we feel and what we want for the future of those areas," he said.

Jim Blankinship of Orem, who is an outdoor recreation major at Utah Valley State College, said any drilling leases should not be allowed to disrupt "natural migration areas and aesthetics. If it is deep in the wilderness and they have to cut roads to get in, I may have an issue with that."

Generally he was opposed to opening any new land to leases "because I think it sets a precedent of allowing more, and the more you allow the more people will want, until the whole forest is leased," he said.

In Wyoming, some companies drilling for oil and natural gas on public lands have been allowed to ignore without consequence environmental regulations written into their licenses, said Ted Fitzgerald, who manages the American Fork Canyon mine reclamation project for Trout Unlimited.

"That is completely inappropriate," he said. "I believe if there was a big enough oil or gas strike here that could occur. I think we just have to keep alerting the public that that kind of thing is going on, to make sure they are aware trade-offs are being made without their input."

Because Trout Unlimited has put time and money into protecting fisheries in the Strawberry Reservoir area, Fitzgerald said he would be opposed to opening up any new land for oil and gas drilling in that area.

However, allowing multiple use -- oil and gas drilling alongside camping, hiking, horse riding, etc. -- on public lands is important, he said.

"Conservation organizations quite often have a very opinionated view of what is best for certain places," he said. "With Trout Unlimited I try to interject a devil's advocate position -- if not here, wherefi If not now, whenfi And what are we going to sacrificefi

"If it can be done correctly, if it is not costing us prime wildlife and recreation opportunities, and if it can be managed, I'm OK with multiple use."

For more information, visit http://www.fs.fed.us/r4/uinta/projects/nepa.

Caleb Warnock can be reached at 443-3263 or cwarnock@heraldextra.com.

To comment on whether Uinta National Forest managers should open more acres for oil and gas drilling:

Write to Dan Dallas, Acting Forest Supervisor, Uinta National Forest, P.O. Box 1428, 88 W. 100 North, Provo, UT 84603

Call (801) 342-5100

Fax (801) 342-5185

E-mail: comments-intermtn-uinta@fs.fed.us

This story appeared in The Daily Herald on page D1.