Sportsmen ask Ritter to revise roadless rule

Posted by egable on July 29th, 2008 filed in Forests

As the federal Roadless Area Conservation National Advisory Committee reviews Colorado’s proposed roadless rule in the nation’s capital this week, hunters and anglers from around Colorado are asking Gov. Bill Ritter (D) to revisit the state’s proposed rule.

With the 2001 roadless rule back in place, sportsmen are concerned that the adoption of a special rule for Colorado would give it the weakest protections in the country.

In Colorado, the bulk of the state’s remaining native trout populations swim in waters flowing through or from roadless lands. What’s more, hunter success, trophy harvest ratio and hunter and angler access are all better in units contained within roadless acreage. In 2006, all of the Colorado Division of Wildlife field officers asked that roadless land be left intact under any rule produced by the state.

The rule would allow road building into the heart of roadless lands for coal mining, oil and gas development and timber harvest, according to Trout Unlimited. These roads would likely remain intact, meaning prime deer and elk habitat would be bisected, and streams and riparian areas could face problems with sediment-laden runoff caused by industrial-grade traffic, they said.

Chris Wood, chief operating officer for Trout Unlimited and a member of the federal committee reviewing the state’s proposed rule, noted the committee had received several letters from interested citizens, elected officials and groups from throughout Colorado expressing concerns with the state’s rule.

Ideally, TU officials said, Gov. Ritter would step in and pull the proposed rule off the table.