RENO -- Environmentalists are urging Rep. Jim Gibbons, R-Nev., to oppose federal legislation that would potentially open up to development 412,000 acres of wilderness study areas in Nevada and California.

Rep. John Doolittle, R-Calif., introduced on Oct. 28 the bill that would remove protections from 11 U.S. Bureau of Land Management wilderness study areas straddling the Nevada-California border north of Reno.

Gibbons' name originally appeared on the bill as its lone co-sponsor, but his aides said it was put there by mistake and that he hasn't decided whether to support it.

John Wallin, director of the Nevada Wilderness Project, said he and other conservationists are not convinced it was a mistake, and they remain concerned the Nevada Republican may end up supporting the measure.

"It is a terrible bill, and Congressman Gibbons has an unfortunate history of calling for release of wilderness study areas," Wallin said.

Doolittle wants to release the lands from wilderness studies partly because he believes "excessive regulations" are preventing federal officials from making land exchanges they believe would be beneficial to both the government and private landowners, his spokeswoman, Laura Blackann, said from Washington.

Amy Maier, Gibbons' chief of staff, said the congressman's name had somehow mistakenly been included on the legislation as a co-sponsor but that it since has been removed.

Blackann said there had been "a misunderstanding at a staff level," and Doolittle agreed to remove Gibbons' name from the bill.

Gibbons thinks the release of wilderness study areas must be done on a case-by-case basis, Maier said.

"In general, Congressman Gibbons supports the release of wilderness study areas out of their de facto wilderness status if the identified area is not appropriate for designation of wilderness by Congress," Maier said.

"Congressman Gibbons is committed to collaborating with all interested parties, including local officials, advocacy groups and the Nevada congressional delegation, about lands bills affecting the state," she said.

The mountainous areas at issue are east of the Sierra in Nevada's Washoe County and California's Lassen and Modoc counties.

Off-road vehicles, development and mining are prohibited in such areas until Congress designates them as wilderness or releases them from wilderness study status.

The matter could prove politically sensitive for Gibbons, a longtime conservative considered the frontrunner in the Nevada governor's race next year.

"That he's still thinking about it suggests he is pretty out of touch with the sentiment in Washoe County," Wallin said.

"Although Washoe County is conservative, people really deeply care about our open space here. It doesn't matter whether you are Republican or Democrat, people love what they have in Washoe County. They want to protect places in Washoe County, not unprotect them," he said.

Of the 412,000 acres of wilderness study areas that Doolittle seeks to release, 223,408 are in California and 188,550 are in Nevada, according to conservationists.