GLENROCK, Wyo. (AP) — Hundreds of people from the Wyoming town of Glenrock have signed a petition protesting gravel mining in the area.

The Casper Star-Tribune reports five major oil and gas firms proposed an environmental review of 5,000 wells over a 10-year period in an area bounded by Glenrock on the west and Douglas on the east.

About 1,500 miles (more than 2,400 kilometers) of access roads would come along with such development, connecting well sites to the sparse network of county and state roads throughout the basin. And those roads need gravel.

A call from the Star Tribune to the Casper office of Knife River, which obtained the state leases to mine, was not returned.

The gravel pits would be constructed on the Duncan Ranch, a popular hunting area.

Locals fear the exposure of the rock will leave an unsightly pink scar on the mountainside.

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