Sportsmen Identify Persistent Problems with State Petition for CO Roadless Rule

News for Immediate Release
April 6, 2010
Contact: Joel Webster, 406-360-3904, jwebster@trcp.org

Sportsmen Identify Persistent Problems with State Petition for Colorado Roadless Rule

TRCP asserts that flaws in state-based management plan would degrade backcountry lands, urges USDA to defer state petition pending resolution of national roadless rule

WASHINGTON – The Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership today identified persistent problems with a new roadless petition released by Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter for a state-based rule governing management of more than 4 million acres of national forest roadless lands in Colorado; however, the sportsmen’s group also acknowledged that the governor’s recommendations represent some improvements from previous drafts of the Colorado rule.

The TRCP reasserted the need for Colorado’s roadless areas to be managed at a level as protective as the national 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule and called on the U.S. Department of Agriculture to take a conservative approach by refraining from finalizing the Colorado rule until the future of the national rule is resolved in federal court.

The sportsmen voiced continued concerns about flaws in the proposed Colorado rule. One of the most problematic is a fundamental lack of commitment by the state to maintain roadless area characteristics in all of its 4 million acres of backcountry lands. Other problems include unjustified provisions for backcountry power-line corridors and aggressive timber harvesting that could compromise valuable fish and wildlife habitat. As drafted, the roadless proposal could negatively affect some of Colorado’s best publicly accessible fish and wildlife habitat.

“Hunters and anglers have led the way in promoting responsible management of Colorado’s roadless lands,” said Joel Webster, associate director of campaigns for the TRCP Center for Western Lands, “but despite our equitable requests, made throughout the state rule-making process to assure these areas’ conservation, the proposed Colorado roadless rule continues to fall short of the standards set by the national roadless rule.

“Sportsmen appreciate Governor Ritter’s leadership in implementing some needed changes to the draft rule, but his recommendations inadequately address the most fundamental problems, which could degrade Colorado’s world-class backcountry,” continued Webster. “We therefore urge the U.S. Department of Agriculture to ensure that Colorado’s roadless areas are conserved at a level consistent with the national rule – and to defer the state petition until a decision is reached regarding the national rule later this year.”

The 10th Circuit Court of Appeals presently is considering a lawsuit brought against the 2001 roadless rule, a national forest management regulation that was designed to limit road building and timber harvest on 58.5 million acres of undeveloped public lands across the country. A ruling determining its future, which has been embroiled in legal wrangling for several years, is anticipated later this year. Ritter has called the Colorado roadless rule an “insurance policy” in case the national roadless rule was overturned.

A sportsmen’s poll shows that most American hunters and anglers support conservation of the nation’s roadless backcountry. Excessive road densities have been shown to adversely affect elk and deer behavior, reproduction and abundance. Improperly located roads also contribute to increased sediment loads in waterways that are important to wild trout.

“Colorado sportsmen currently benefit from a national roadless rule that safeguards the state’s renowned elk, mule deer and trout populations and sustains our outdoor traditions,” said TRCP Colorado Field Representative Nick Payne. “We don’t want these traditions to be weakened by an inadequate Colorado rule. Hunters and anglers speak loudly in urging the U.S. Department of Agriculture to wait to implement the Colorado ‘insurance policy’ until the future of the 2001 roadless rule is decided once and for all.”

Learn more about the TRCP’s work in support of roadless area conservation.

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