Interest is surprisingly strong in potential oil shale and tar sands development on federal land, judging by the first of three days of public meetings in Utah.

On Monday, the Bureau of Land Management hosted two informal open house meetings for anyone interested in the issue — pro, con or undecided — in the agency's office at 2370 S. 2300 West. About 45 showed up for the first of the sessions, in which BLM experts and consultants referred to maps posted on the walls and answered questions.

"I would say this is a very big turnout," said BLM spokesman Donald Quick. Watching the visitors who talked with each other about the matter, he added, "There's a certain amount of networking among people who are here."

The open houses are part of the BLM's development of a programmic environmental impact statement (PEIS) about oil shale leasing on the Green River Formation of Utah, Colorado and Wyoming. A programmic EIS delves into overall issues. But according to the BLM, any specific project would require a separate National Environmental Policy Act study before leasing would be approved. The study could range from an environmental impact statement to a review with a finding of no significant impacts.

Six 160-acre tracts already have been leased under a congressionally mandated research and development program. One of the tracts, to be developed by Oil Shale Exploration Co., is in Utah. The others are in Colorado, said Jim Kohler, chief of minerals for the BLM in Utah.

Under the BLM's preferred alternative, just under 2 million acres would be made available for commercial oil shale and leasing, counting the six experimental tracts in this territory. Of the 2 million acres, about 631,000 acres are in Utah. The BLM estimates that 61 billion barrels of shale oil could be produced. Of that amount, Utah claims the lion's share at 28 billion barrels.

Wilderness areas, wilderness study areas and other protected regions would be exempt from leasing.

For tar sands developments, the BLM is looking at leasing only in Utah, with more than 431,000 acres made available. The land is in Special Tar Sands Areas designated in 1980, and similar land restrictions would apply. The statement's executive summary did not estimate the potential production from this region.

The PEIS would amend resource management plans on the BLM's Price, Richfield, Monticello and Vernal districts, Kohler said.

Jim Catlin, an environmental advocate with the Wild Utah Project, Salt Lake City, was at the meeting to hand BLM officials a CD containing a proposal by the Heart of the West Coalition.

"We're offering an alternative based on wildlife needs that suggests that there's some development that can occur in the area," Catlin said, "and part of the area needs to be conserved for wildlife needs."