MONTROSE, Colo.—Regional Forester Rick Cables says Colorado needs to adopt roadless rules to protect 4 million acres of dead pine ravaged by the bark beetle epidemic.
The proposed Colorado roadless rules would prohibit tree-cutting, road construction and some construction zones within areas designated as roadless.
The state is developing its own roadless rules after the 2001 rules promoted by former President Bill Clinton became tangled up in the courts.
Roadless areas are those with few roads that provide recreation and other uses in a relatively undeveloped setting.
Cables told the Montrose Daily Press that the courts would probably rule if the state roadless rules are not adopted.
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Information from: The Montrose Daily Press,
