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Colorado’s roadless forests need your help!
On December
26, 2007, directed by the Bush administration,
the Forest Service announced its intent to begin
a national rulemaking that would weaken existing
protections for 4.4 million acres of Colorado's
wild national forest roadless areas.
National
forest roadless areas protect our clean drinking
water supplies, hunting grounds, recreation
lands, wildlife habitat, and our Colorado
heritage. Our roadless forests, places like
Herman Gulch, the Sourdough Trail, and Pagoda
Peak - summer range to the largest elk herd in
North America, provide quiet places for
contemplation and natural escape that are the
defining spirit of the Rocky Mountains.
These areas
currently enjoy protection under the 2001
Roadless Area Conservation Rule, but under the
Bush administration proposal they would be
removed from this protection and be subject to
weaker provisions than other national forest
roadless areas across the nation. Under the
proposed Colorado rules, the door could be
opened to mining, logging, and road
construction, as well as other special
interests.
Please let
the Forest Service know that you want all of
Colorado's roadless areas protected by the 2001
Roadless Area Conservation Rule. Ask them not to
weaken the current protections. With your help,
we can keep these areas as they are today.
The U.S.
Forest Service is no longer accepting comments
at this stage in the rulemaking process. There
will be more opportunities to comment to the
Forest Service once the Draft Rule is released.
Please check back later for more information on
participating in the Colorado roadless
rulemaking process.
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