A bill championed by the late Sen. Craig Thomas that would put portions of the Wyoming Range off-limits to future oil and gas drilling has cleared Congress.

The bill was among many measures in a public lands bill that also would protect nearly 2 million acres in nine states as designated wilderness areas. The omnibus bill passed the U.S. House 285-140 on Wednesday

Rep. Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyo., voted against the bill, saying she didn't get an opportunity to make changes she wanted, such as to boundary lines in the Wyoming Range Legacy Act.

"She wanted to see some targeted improvements made," spokesman Ryan Taylor said.

The lands bill includes two other measures important to Wyoming besides the Wyoming Range legislation. One would designate the Snake River headwaters as "wild and scenic." The other would compensate ranchers for livestock killed by wolves.

Sens. Mike Enzi and John Barrasso, both R-Wyo., voted for the lands bill last week. Both mentioned the legacy of Thomas, who pushed the Wyoming Range legislation until his death from leukemia in 2007.

On Wednesday, Barrasso recalled finding the late senator's notes on the bill in his desk after he was appointed to replace Thomas. Barrasso said he's been pushing for the Wyoming Range bill ever since.

"I really felt it was very important to try to continue Sen. Thomas' work," he said.

He called the bill a good example of multiple land use and said he heard that President Obama plans to sign the legislation Monday.

"This doesn't stop any of the energy production that's currently ongoing," Barrasso said. "It just says no future development, and continue to protect that area for hunting, fishing, ranching - you know, all of the other uses."

Seeing the bill through Congress has been a four-year project for Tom Reed, spokesman for the group Sportsmen for the Wyoming Range . Reed said the measure is a good example of offsetting the environmental effects of heavy gas drilling just east of the mountains.

"We felt like here's a perfect example where you can do it right," he said. "You can develop a field or two on one hand, and on the other hand you can keep some of it for wildlife and fisheries and people who like to hunt and fish."

Reed said he rode a horse along the length of the mountain range over nine days in 2007 and saw only a handful of other people over the entire trip.

"This is a place where we don't need to be drilling. We need to be thinking about our kids and grandkids," he said. "That's kind of what it means for me."