The snow capped volcanos and stunning landscape of Central Oregon lure visitors year round.

In the Newberry National Volcanic Monument near Bend, they come to see the spectacular lava flows and the mile-high lakes and hot springs warmed by volcanic forces.

But the volcano is not the only thing constantly working up here. There's a large scale drilling operation just outside of the monument's boundary.

Douglas Perry leads a tricky hunt 10,000 feet bellow the surface. "We're exploring for water," says Perry, President of Davenport Power of Stamford, Connecticut.

Specifically, extremely hot water.

U.S. Forest Service

The Newberry Crater is located about 24 miles south of Bend.

The same process behind Oregon's famous hot springs may one day power as many as 100,000 homes with geothermal energy.

Perry says millions of dollars are at stake in search of one answer, "Can we find the faults, geologic formations, so that we can mine the heat?" The incredible expense wouldn't have made sense a short while ago, he adds, but rising energy prices are making projects like this a lot more feasible.

The promise of renewable energy isn't enough to satisfy the concerns of local environmentalists like Asante Riverwind of the Bend Sierra Club. Riverwind says geothermal energy might be part of the solution, but the location is important too. He thinks the drilling is taking place too close to the Newberry Monument and that toxins like sulfer dioxide and radon could be released into the fragile environment.

"The monument is in a pretty incredibly treasured place ecologically, recreationally," he says. "And the community was not involved in this project, was not really consulted."

While the Sierra Club worries there was not enough public input for such a sensitive location, Perry promises to be transparent and says the company will "do the right thing."

These kinds of conflicts may soon be repeating all over the west. The Bureau of Land Management wants to open more than 200 million acres of public lands in 11 Western states to geothermal exploration and development. BLM is holding a series of public meetings on the plan this summer and hopes to have a final version ready before the end of year.

Back near the Newberry Monument, work continues on the rig. There may be a lot of potential power and money waiting just below the surface. It's a project that's keeping everyone on edge

"Geothermal," says Perry, "is not for the faint of heart."

ADDITIONAL WEB RESOURCES

BLM Public Meetings on Geothermal

Monday, July 28, 530pm

Seattle Public Library, University Branch

5009 Roosevelt Way NE

Seattle, WA 98105

Tuesday, July 29, 530pm

Multnomah Co. Central Library

801 SW 10th Avenue

Portland, OR 97205

BLM Draft Environment Impact Statement: BLM.gov