The 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule is a landmark environmental measure that preserves 58.5 million acres of inventoried roadless areas in your National Forests. After a long legal battle, a Federal court recently reinstated the 2001 Rule, but the State of Colorado is still continuing efforts to open up some of the wildest backcountry in Colorado to widespread logging, new coal mines, and road building. 

The proposed Colorado Rule would leave our Rocky Mountain heritage at risk and undercut the 2001 Rule's vital protections. As a result, Colorado's national forests would enjoy fewer protections than those in any other state, leaving them vulnerable to industrial development. The proposed Colorado Rule is more about providing exceptions for development rather than protections for these wild areas, and would jeopardize valuable fish & wildlife habitat, clean water sources, and popular recreation areas that Coloradoans and all Americans have come to enjoy.

Please urge the State of Colorado to protect Colorado's Forest Legacy! The state has asked the public to weigh in on the proposed Colorado Rule. This is your chance to encourage the state, and the US Forest Service, to secure strong protections for Colorado's backcountry forests.

Sample Letter for Campaign

Dear [ Decision Maker ] ,

I am writing to express my opposition to the proposed Colorado Roadless Rule.

This proposed Colorado Rule would open to industrial development the very things that make Colorado, and all roadless areas nationwide, precious to the American people. The proposed Colorado Rule does not protect Colorado's National Forest roadless areas from commercial logging or from roadbuilding associated with new coal or oil and gas leasing or water and utility infrastructure development. The proposed rule creates road building loopholes that would jeopardize valuable wildlife habitat, clean water sources, and popular recreation areas.

The proposal fails to provide the strong protections which Colorado citizens and millions of Americans across the country have requested time and time again. Despite some improvements, the Colorado Rule falls well short of the protections provided by the 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule, popularly known as the 2001 Roadless Rule. The proposed Colorado Rule is a glaring example of why the 2001 Rule - a national rule providing consistent and forward-looking protection for these national lands - was developed in the first place, and should be fully reinstated and defended in court.

We urge you to forgo any future action on the proposed Colorado Rule until a clear national direction for Roadless Area Management is articulated by USDA and the Obama Administration. Colorado's roadless areas must receive the same strong protections afforded nationwide.

Sincerely,

Campaign Launched:
September 29, 2009