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Protect Colorado's Forest Legacy
On its way out the door, the Bush Administration is moving forward with its plans to remove the current protections now in place for Colorado's roadless backcountry forests. These roadless areas provide critical habitat for deer, elk, lynx and other wildlife, contain vital watersheds that ensure clean drinking water, and provide myriad recreation opportunities that bolster Colorado's multi-billion dollar outdoor recreation industry.
The Bush Administration's proposed rule for managing Colorado's valued public roadless lands was released Friday, July 25, 2008. This announcement formally opens the 90-day public comment period.
Please use the form below to comment on the proposed rule.
| Sample Letter for Campaign |
Subject: CO Roadless Rule
Dear [ Decision Maker ] ,
As a Coloradan, I ask the Forest Service to fully protect all of Colorado's roadless areas according to the 2001 roadless rule. The weaker protections specific to the roadless areas in Colorado must be rejected. Protecting these last unspoiled natural areas is a responsible, common sense request to preserve our quality of life now, and for future generations.
The draft Rule would allow unlimited logging to "improve" wildlife habitat, even though roadless areas are valuable precisely because they provide a refuge from human activities like logging.
Some roadless areas could have road construction and logging in large areas supposedly for fuel and fire hazard reduction, even in areas that are far away from homes where the projects would not truly protect lives and property.
New electrical transmission lines and water pipelines could be constructed in roadless areas, along with roads to access construction sites.
Roads, well pads and pipelines would be built for oil and gas leases issues after the date of the 2001 Rule but before a Colorado Roadless Rule becomes effective.
Sincerely,
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Campaign Launched:
August 11, 2008
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Important Benefits of Roadless Areas
- Roadless areas are the last unspoiled parts of Colorado's national forests. These natural areas offer the best of Colorado's great outdoors, where our families experience solitude, participate in healthy recreation, and enjoy the beauty of nature.
- These lands offer some of the best hunting, fishing, hiking, backcountry skiing, solitude, and freedom left in Colorado. Keeping them as they are now lets us continue enjoying the outdoor activities we enjoy, making our communities economically stable. More roads in these areas will serve to degrade a valuable and irreplaceable resource, and provide only short-term gains at best. Conserving our last unspoiled areas allows us to pass our outdoor traditions to future generations.
- Roadless areas provide the clean water that Coloradans need for drinking, farming, ranching, fishing, boating, and other uses. Opening Colorado's roadless areas to oil and gas exploration rigs, mining, and timber cutting can pollute the crystal clear streams that are so critical for people and wildlife in our arid state.
- Roadless areas temper the intensity of wildfire by providing a space where fire is allowed to fulfill its natural role. Heavily roaded areas are generally at higher risk of more frequent and more severe wildfire than roadless areas.
- Ecologists and wildlife managers suggest that a full range of ecological communities and elevation ranges should be protected; currently, about 70% of Colorado's well-protected lands lie at above 10,000 feet. Many of the roadless areas in the Pike-San Isabel National Forest consist of these under-represented lower elevations.
Wildlife Facts
- Many of the state's native wildlife species (including elk, deer, black bear, lynx, and trout) rely on these havens for habitat, migration, and survival. Many at-risk species depend on large tracts of unbroken habitat, and exhibit road avoidance or rely on remoteness from human activity as a key habitat characteristic
- Elk populations decline with increased road density. Research has found that two miles of roads per square mile reduces elk populations by 50%, while six miles of roads per square mile virtually eradicates elk populations.
- Hunters and anglers cherish the solitude and freedom these areas provide. Recreational users come from far and wide to enjoy our local undeveloped areas, attesting to the allure of these special places, and supporting local outfitting and other aspects of our local economy.
- Large, unbroken tracts of undisturbed habitat have been critical to the successful re-introduction of the endangered Canada lynx in Colorado, and roadless areas provide the diversity of ecosystems needed for shorter-ranging species of birds, mammals, reptiles, and amphibians, including at-risk species such as the boreal toad.
Economic Facts
- Colorado's roadless areas provide resources that sustain traditional industries and help maintain the unique culture of the Rocky Mountain West. More than 2.5 million tourists and numerous new businesses and residents come to Colorado each year to enjoy Colorado's outstanding public wild lands.
- In 2004, almost $2.3 billion was spent in Colorado by hunters, anglers, and wildlife watchers alone, and spending on outdoor equipment and gear totaled $1.3 billion in that same year.
- Logging and wood products industries contribute less than one percent to the state's pool of jobs.
- In Colorado, the Forest Service already has a $163 million backlog of road maintenance and road-related restoration projects.
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