"This initiative will combine the wildlife-science and land-managing expertise of Interior agencies with the knowledge and experience of local communities to restore and protect working Western landscapes that host both world-class wildlife habitat and world-class energy resources," Kempthorne said.

Also in the president's budget request:

• An increase of $8.8 million to the Central Utah Project through the Interior Department, which aims to create a system of dams and aqueducts designed to bring water from the Uinta Basin to the Wasatch Front. President Bush requested $43 million for the project, which is almost $9 million above the 2007 level Congress allowed to continue from 2006 and $2.8 million above the president's request from last year.

• The 2008 budget proposes $190 million for payment in lieu of taxes (PILT), about $42.5 million below what Congress approved for 2007 and $8 million below the president's previous request. PILT pays local governments for federal land located within the counties on which counties cannot collect taxes.

"The initial budget number for PILT this year is disappointing, but we will work as we always do to increase that," said Rep. Rob Bishop, R-Utah. "We have to give our Western counties more of their own lands or more financial compensation for having them under federal control."

Rep. Chris Cannon, R-Utah, said the administration does not seem to understand how PILT funding affects rural Western counties with large amounts of federal land.

"If they are wondering why the West is turning from red to purple and blue, perhaps showing a bit more respect for those who have to deal with the government's massive presence in our counties and states would help," Cannon said.

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E-mail: suzanne@desnews.com