DENVER—State and federal officials have started writing a rule for the management of some 4 million acres of roadless areas in national forests in Colorado.
The plan will largely follow one that was drafted by a state task force, submitted by state officials and recently approved by federal officials.
The proposal would keep most of the 4.1 million acres of roadless forest land off-limits to development. Exceptions would be allowed for logging, for treatment to prevent fires and fight bark-beetle infestations, and to allow a coal mine in western Colorado to continue operations.
Public comments will be taken on the draft plan and environmental impact statement.
The forest land was designated as roadless in 2001 in the final days of the Clinton administration, which banned new roads on 58.5 million acres of forest land nationwide. The land, some of which has trails or roads, is generally remote and considered important for wildlife habitat, watersheds, scenic and recreation areas.
The Bush administration replaced the Clinton-era rule with one that opened some of the land to development. States were allowed to petition to protect the land.
Last year, a federal judge in San Francisco year overturned the Bush administration policy, saying the necessary environmental reviews weren’t done, and reinstated the road-building ban.
Some Colorado environmental, hunting and fishing groups have urged Gov. Bill Ritter to withdraw the state petition and apply the 2001 rule, which they say is more protective. Ritter, though, has called the state plan an insurance policy because of ongoing legal disputes.
The state of Wyoming has revived its lawsuit challenging the Clinton-era roadless rule. U.S. District Judge Clarence Brimmer has scheduled a hearing in the case for Oct. 19 in Cheyenne.
Wyoming won its original legal challenge in 2003 when Brimmer threw out the 2001 roadless policy. The case went to the federal appeals court in Denver, but was declared moot in 2005 when the Bush administration adopted a new policy.
