Group says bought-out Wyo. gas leases now retired

A land conservation group says all of the drilling leases it recently bought in Bridger-Teton National Forest in western Wyoming now have been officially retired. The Trust for Public Land bought the leases in the Hoback River headwaters from Houston-based Plains Exploration and Production. The group raised $8.75 million to buy the leases from the company and donate them back to the U.S. Forest Service. Chris Deming with the Trust for Public Land says the Forest Service now has retired the leases. Plains Exploration and Production sought to drill 136 gas wells. Some bought-out leases on private land have yet to be retired. Deming says the trust is working with the U.S. Bureau of Land Management to retire those leases.