DENVER—Nearly 30,000
Coloradans have made themselves abundantly clear today: roadless areas in national
forest across Colorado and beyond must be protected from road-building, oil
and gas development, logging and other extractive uses, a desire made a reality
under the Roadless Area Conservation Rule of 2001. Today, a diverse group of
allies, including Congressman Mark Udall, State Senate Majority Leader Joan
Fitz-Gerald, Republicans for Environmental Protection, Trout Unlimited, the
Outdoor Industry Association, and Environment Colorado expressed their support
for the Roadless Rule, and took a stand against the Bush administration's proposal
to repeal the Rule.
The Roadless Rule was enacted
in January 2001 to protect 58.5 million acres of national forests across the
country from road building, logging, mining and other extractive uses, including
4.4 million in Colorado. However, in an effort to open up our last remaining
wild forests to the exploits of the extractive industry, the Bush administration
in July announced a proposal to repeal the Roadless Rule, and put the decision
of roadless area protection into the hands of individual governors. Today marks
the end of the public comment period for the proposal to repeal the Roadless
Rule.
The Bush administration proposal blatantly ignores the fact that the Roadless
Rule has generated more supportive public comments than any other issue in United
States history. As such, diverse citizens of Colorado expressed their undying
support for the Rule today.
"With our state's rapid
population growth putting increasing pressure on all our open spaces, I support
increased protection for these roadless areas in order to protect natural resources,
provide more diverse recreational opportunities, and preserve some of the undisturbed
landscapes that are such a special part of Colorado and other western states,"
stated Congressman Mark Udall.
Furthermore, roadless area
protection enjoys support across the social, political and economic spectrum.
"As Republicans, we are tired of taxpayer money being spent to subsidize
logging roads into our national forests; the original Roadless Rule protects
the last pristine and unprotected national forests from the wreckless spending,"
said Marty Sorensen, President of the Colorado Chapter of Republicans for Environmental
Protection. As for the Bush administration proposal, Sorensen said "These
are federal lands, thus they should be managed with a federal policy."
Coloradans understand that
if our last remaining forests are left open to logging, mining, road building,
and oil and gas exploration that the recreational value, including the quality
of our rivers and river habitats that make our forests so precious will be lost.
"The majority of Colorado's greenback and Colorado River cutthroat trout
populations reside in roadless areas. Protecting our roadless areas is the first
key step in preserving these Colorado native fish," said Sharon Lance,
President of the Colorado Chapter of Trout Unlimited. "Roads lead to erosion
and dump sediment into streams, smothering trout eggs and the bug life that
fish feed on."
"Coloradan's spend
an estimated 200 million dollars annually on non-motorized recreational equipment"
said Ali Steimke of the Outdoor Industry Association. "Colorado's economy
can't afford to lose these roadless areas."
A record number of Coloradoans
sent letters, emails and faxes to the Forest Service in support of roadless
area protection during the public comment period on the Bush Administration
proposal. That comment period ends today. Totaling nearly 30,000, these comments
are to be added to the 1.5 million comments generated nationally.
In conjunction with the
comment deadline, Environment Colorado released a report today documenting the
clean drinking water, recreation, and wildlife habitat benefits of roadless
areas in America's National Forests. Entitled "Our
Natural Legacy: The Value of America's Roadless National Forests,"
the report finds that 60 million Americans rely on clean drinking water from
national forests, and that roadless areas provide the purest source of that
water due to their pristine and road-free condition.
The protection of the last remaining roadless areas is not only of critical
importance to today's economy, overall forest health and human enjoyment, but
also for the future of our heritage. Unless action is taken now to preserve
what we have left, the young people of today will be left with a decimated,
highly degraded world tomorrow.
Sixteen year-old Isa Roske,
a driving force behind a dynamic group called Youth Leaders in Action stated,
"The forests are the lungs of our world, and in destroying these precious
ecosystems we are endangering the future of our children. We as the young people
of today, inheriting the world of tomorrow will be paying the price for your
choices."
