Forest Supervisor Carole Hamilton
Bridger-Teton National Forest
P.O. Box 1888
Jackson, Wyoming 83001

RE: Stop oil and gas drilling in the Bridger-Teton National Forest

Dear Supervisor Hamilton,

I urge you to reconsider and reverse your decision to sell oil and gas leases on more than 125,000 acres of the Bridger-Teton National Forest's Wyoming Range.

I am particularly concerned about development in tens of thousands of acres of roadless areas that qualify for protection under the Roadless Area Conservation Rule. Nearly two-thirds of the land to be leased is located in these roadless areas that hold rare natural values too precious to sacrifice for the temporary benefits of natural gas production. Much of this land is untrammeled wilderness-quality backcountry, providing solitude for people and valuable habitat for protected species, including grizzly bears, lynx, wolverines and gray wolves. Its streams harbor some of the most important populations of native Colorado River cutthroat trout in Wyoming.

In light of the rampant development on neighboring land in the Upper Green River Valley and the abundance of undeveloped leases throughout Wyoming, leasing any more of the Bridger-Teton to the oil and gas industry cannot be justified. In addition, new leasing decisions should not be made until the Forest Service updates its land and resource management plan and completes an environmental impact statement.