A coalition of environmental groups marched into a Bureau of Land Management public hearing Tuesday to protest a plan that would open up 2.5 million acres of Utah wilderness to oil and gas drilling.

The draft plan, which manages public lands in Carbon and Emery counties, is the first of seven land use plans the BLM will release over the next few years.

Conservationists say the plan would sacrifice "public treasures" like Sids Mountain, Mexican Mountain and the foothills of the San Rafael Reef.

"The Department of Interior is hoping to leave a legacy of oil wells, pipelines, sludge pits, roads and off-road vehicle tracks in our back yard," said Heidi McIntosh, conservation director at the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance. "As Utahns, we know that the magnificent beauty of these treasure landscapes is not the place for dirt bikes and drill pads."

The BLM's draft plan leaves 98 percent of lands outside already protected wilderness study areas open to drilling, including Desolation Canyon and the Book Cliffs.

McIntosh said the BLM should use a more balanced approach to keep all sides happy — from wildlife to industry.

Allison Jones, a conservation biologist with the Wild Utah Project, said the BLM is not looking at the impact oil and gas development has on wildlife. She cited scientific studies that show that mining and energy development are factors that led to the demise of certain animals, including hawks, black-footed ferrets, prairie dogs and burrowing owls.

"This draft management plan, from an ecological viewpoint, is likely to receive a failing score," Jones said. "The implications for our important wildlife resources and Utah's natural heritage are sobering and could spell very bad news for some species of wildlife."

The draft plan also evaluates off-road vehicle use. McIntosh and Will McCarvill of the Wasatch Mountain Club said the BLM must take a stand on the "spiderweb" of trails that are created each weekend in Utah's wilderness areas.

McIntosh thanked the BLM for recently halting cross-country use of ATVs and designating specific trails to ride. But, she said, it seems the BLM is bowing to public pressure and "the BLM's commitment to a firm, workable plan may be wavering."

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