Freudenthal in a letter has asked the US government to suspend lease sales scheduled for next month until the appeal is resolved, Azar said.

"To do otherwise will be perceived by many as a predetermination of the existing appeals," Freudenthal wrote in his letter.

"In the spirit of administrative and judicial economy, and with the knowledge that there are likely to be a significant number of substantively and procedurally similar appeals that come as a result of all future leasing in the Bridger-Teton, it seems logical to resolve the December sale appeals before offering additional parcels for lease," Freudenthal added.

The 3.4-million acre Bridger-Teton National Forest in western Wyoming neighbors the Grand-Teton National Park and the National Elk Refuge and has three nationally dedicated wilderness areas.

Additionally, the Bridger-Teton National Forest comprises a large part of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, the largest intact ecosystem in the lower continental United States, according to the US Forest Service.

About 44,000 acres have been slated for oil and gas leasing in the Bridger-Teton, prompting opposition by a number of groups who want the area off limits to drilling, which is booming across Wyoming.

Wyoming posted a seasonally adjusted unemployment rate of 3.3 percent in February on a 3.5 percent jump in employment from a year earlier. Natural resources and mining led the state's job growth, increasing payrolls by 15.5 percent from a year earlier.

State officials anticipate Wyoming's natural gas boom continuing and are putting state money behind it.

Lawmakers and Freudenthal earlier this month approved raising the Wyoming Pipeline Authority's debt capacity to US$3 billion from US$1 billion so it can help finance the construction of the planned 1,500-mile Rockies Express natural gas pipeline system to eastern Ohio.