Senate Republicans commended the governor today for supporting a federal decision to allow energy development on Colorado’s Roan Plateau, a vast natural gas resource that federal officials say could heat 4 million homes for 25 years.

Gov. Bill Ritter's move--urging "maximum economic benefit and minimum environmental impact" in the U.S. Bureau of Land Management's development plan for the Roan--surprised observers after he spent months casting doubt on the federal plan.

While GOP senators say they will reserve judgment until they review details of the governor's written recommendations to the bureau, they welcomed his support for tapping the Roan's potential, and they noted it stands in contrast to the course taken by his fellow Democrats representing Colorado in Congress. U.S. Sen. Ken Salazar as well as U.S. Reps. Mark Udall and John Salazar have attempted unsuccessfully to block development of the energy-rich Roan.

"When you strip away all the politics and all the partisan grandstanding that’s been going on in Washington, the governor finally came around to making the right call on the Roan and he deserves credit for it," said the GOP's Sen. Josh Penry, of Grand Junction.