DENVER—The Environmental Protection Agency says a plan for managing about 4 million acres of roadless forests in Colorado should include top protections for more land.
U.S. Forest Service and state officials developed a proposal designating about 562,000 acres for “upper tier” protection, with tight restrictions on road construction and tree cutting. The EPA said this week it supports giving that protection to about 2.6 million acres.
The Denver Post reports the EPA also recommended measures to reduce emissions from coal mining and protect wetlands from potential ski resort expansions.
The Forest Service is reviewing about 55,000 public comments on the proposed Colorado roadless rule, which carves out exceptions to a 2001 federal policy prohibiting most development on about 58 million acres of national forests.
