Outdoor Alliance and and Outdoor Indsutry Association joined in filing comments on a revised draft of the Colorado Roadless Rule developed by the state of Colorado. A draft rule was published in the Federal Register in July 2008. During the past year Colorado has listened to stakeholders including representatives from the outdoor recreation community and worked with the Forest Service to improve the draft rule. We still have significant concerns with the revised rule and have submitted specific comments in response to the state's invitation to do so.

The human-powered outdoor recreation community treasures the kinds of experiences that Roadless Areas provide. Many of Colorado’s Roadless Areas contain world-class climbing routes, hiking and biking trails, rivers, and backcountry ski and snowshoe destinations. The quality of these resources is rooted not only in the distinctive topography, but their setting. We provided both a subjective and quantitative review of the human-powered outdoor resources in Colorado Roadless Areas in comments submitted to the U.S. Forest Service last fall (Read Our Comments From Last Year)

Originally Colorado pursued a state-specific rulemaking given legal challenges to the 2001 Roadless Rule. Much has changed however since Colorado submitted a petition for a new rule. First, the new Obama Administration unambiguously supports robust protection of roadless areas, not only from the perspective of national policy, but also in the federal courts. Second, the recent decision in the 9th Circuit upholding roadless area protection, should also go a long way in allaying the concerns originally articulated by Colorado in their request for a state-specific rulemaking. In light of all these developments, we have requested a suspension of the Colorado Roadless Rule until the Obama Administration finalizes the details of its national policy regarding roadless area conservation.

We identified the following specific concerns with the rule:

1) The first and highest priority of the rule must be to ensure sustainability for roadless areas under the agency's jurisdiction. The Colorado roadless rule must ensure that roadless area characteristics will be maintained or improved. It is these characteristics that define the recreational experience in roadless areas and management activities should be required to uphold these values.

2) Provisions in the Colorado Rule that would allow roads, temporary roads, and linear construction zones to build new powerlines, new dams, and reservoirs in our valued backcountry must be struck. These provisions are in direct conflict with the 2001 Rule and are among the most troublesome provisions in the rule for our community.  Any other alternative providing access to and construction of potential future facilities in Roadless Areas is by definition less protective than the 2001 Rule and represents an alternative that is difficult to support.

3) Exceptions allowing logging in roadless areas outside areas immediately surrounding homes and communities need to be significantly tightened. Fire risks are real and must be addressed, but removing trees on lands extending 1.5 miles from homes is excessive and would unnecessarily scar the gateways to backcountry areas that contain world-class recreation. 

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