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Colorado, feds start work on state's roadless rule |
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State and federal officials have started work on a rule that will guide
management of more than 4 million acres of roadless areas on Colorado's
national forest lands.
The plan will be based on recommendations drafted by a 13-member
bipartisan state task force authorized by the state Legislature in
2005. After conducting nine public meetings and receiving more than
40,000 written comments, the task force presented its recommendations
to then-Gov. Bill Owens (R) in the fall of 2006.
The task force recommended prohibiting development in most of
the 4.1 million acres of roadless areas, including the Uncompahgre
Plateau, Battlement Mesa and the Flat Tops. Gov. Bill Ritter (D) in
April asked the U.S. Department of Agriculture to move forward with the
rulemaking to protect the acres recommended by the task force (Land
Letter, April 12).
The task force's final recommendations were accepted with some
modifications by the USDA on Aug. 24. The next step is for the
government to create a rule for managing Colorado's roadless areas, a
process that officials say could last more than a year.
"The extensive public comment and review process has been
extremely effective to date," Ritter said in a statement. "We now look
forward to working with the public and the Forest Service to develop
rules that will guide the management of roadless areas in Colorado and
fit the state's unique needs."
A Colorado roadless rule would only be necessary should a
higher court overturn a federal court decision last year that protected
all of the national forest system's 58.5 million acres of roadless
areas. That court decision upheld a 2001 Clinton administration rule
that banned new roads and other development in those areas.
But Colorado had already begun its petition process, set up by
a Bush administration policy, before that court decision was handed
down. Rather than leave protection of its roadless areas to the whims
of the courts or Washington, Colorado has decided to move forward with
its own rulemaking, said Colorado Department of Natural Resources
spokeswoman Deb Frazier.
"It's a wise thing to do and a prudent thing to do," Frazier said.
In a statement, Rocky Mountain regional forester Rick Cables
noted that Colorado "has invested a lot of time and effort toward this
effort already."
And while Colorado's rules are unnecessary as long as the
Clinton rule remains intact, Steve Smith, assistant regional director
of the Wilderness Society and a former task force member, said "any
effort that seeks to protect roadless areas is a good thing." He
expects that the public comments on the rulemaking will show strong
public support for protecting roadless areas, he said.
The public will get a chance to comment on the plan after a
notice is published in the Federal Register later this month and when
the Forest Service releases the draft rule.
State Sen. Josh Penry (R), who carried the bill establishing
the task force and was also a member, said he was pleased that USDA
accepted the state's petition and he expected the final rule would
closely mirror the task force's recommendations. "I would be very
surprised if there were anything more than superficial changes in the
rulemaking," he said.
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