by Kirk Deeter

It’s an old axiom that the farther “off the beaten path” an angler goes, the better fishing that angler will find. Being willing to use your feet to put the crowds behind you is the real key to finding trout that eagerly eat dry flies.

But having those areas that are accessible only by foot is important to all anglers, whether you’re an intrepid hiker or not. All anglers (and hunters) win with roadless areas, and fly fishing as we know it really depends on roadless wilderness.

Let’s remember that it’s called it a “beaten” path for a reason. In a culture where we wrangle over parking spots that get us 50 feet closer to the door at Wal-Mart–and while there’s still appeal (for some) to the notions of “taming wild places” and “opening up the West”–it is difficult to impress upon many that the best way to honor and appreciate wild places is to leave them alone.

This is especially true in Colorado. Here, 12 of the 15 most hunted game management units (the most productive ones) have over 100,000 acres of roadless wilderness. More than 70 percent of Colorado River Cutthroat trout habitat is in roadless areas.

Build roads in these areas, and the elk migrations are hindered, the mule deer populations suffer, and the trout spawning habitat is negatively impacted. That means less hunting and fishing opportunity.

The United States Department of Agriculture is now considering the future of roadless areas in Colorado. For the next two days (before July 14th), the public can comment in favor or preserving roadless areas. You can click here  to learn more about roadless issues from Colorado Trout Unlimited. You’ll also find links to make comments to USDA.

It’s worth a couple minutes of your time, whether you live in Colorado or plan on visiting. Access to wild places is a great thing. But how we access those places might well be the key to just how wild they stay for future generations.

Roadless backcountry vital to hunters, anglers

Sportsmen: Roadless Rule on the right track

Contact:
David Nickum (720) 581-8589
Aaron Kindle (303) 868-2859

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Sportsmen: Roadless Rule on the right track
Hunters, anglers vow to press for higher level of habitat protection

DENVER, Colo. – The latest version of the Colorado Roadless Rule, announced today at a joint news conference between the U.S. Forest Service and the Colorado Department of Natural Resources, is an improvement over previous versions, according to the state’s sportsmen. However, hunters and anglers across the state were quick to point out that the proposed rule must be strengthened if it is to adequately protect Colorado’s backcountry roadless lands.

“Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack has already said that the standard for a Colorado Roadless Rule is that it must provide protections that are as strong, or stronger, than the original 2001 Roadless Rule,” said David Nickum, Executive Director of Colorado Trout Unlimited. “With the exceptions outlined in this proposal for coal mining, ski areas and forest treatment, reaching that standard will require that a substantial amount of additional acreage receive stronger Upper Tier protections.”

Nickum emphasized Trout Unlimited members are looking forward to working with the Forest Service through the comment period to ensure the finished rule protects Colorado’s trout fisheries and their watersheds.  A stronger conservation alternative included for environmental analysis along with the new draft rule may offer a framework for such improvements.

“We’re encouraged that the Forest Service is considering a conservation alternative that would provide additional protection to many of the state’s most valuable roadless areas,” said Aaron Kindle, Public Lands Coordinator for Trout Unlimited’s Sportsmen’s Conservation Project. “We’ll be working with them to make sure these kinds of protections are part of the final rule, because it’s not just fish and wildlife habitat that will benefit from a stronger rule, but the many small communities in the state that depend on hunters and anglers for jobs and strong local economies.”

Trout Unlimited is a private, non-profit organization with 140,000 members dedicated to conserving, protecting and restoring North America’s coldwater fisheries and their watersheds. Colorado Trout Unlimited is the organization’s Colorado state council and has more than 9,000 members statewide.

News Release
Release No. 0162.11
Contact:
Press Office (202) 205-1134
 
Agriculture Secretary Vilsack Announces Proposed Colorado Roadless Rule
 
  WASHINGTON, April 14, 2011 – Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced the publication and start of a 90-day comment period for the proposed Colorado Roadless Rule, developed collaboratively to address the needs of Colorado’s unique and precious roadless areas.

“We are committed to the protection of roadless areas on our national forests, areas vital for conservation of water resources, wildlife and for outdoor recreation,” said Vilsack. “These areas also provide an important driver of economic opportunity and jobs in rural Colorado communities.”

This proposed rule, in development since 2005, reflects the interests of thousands of Coloradoans and stakeholders from across the country who contributed to its development.

“The Forest Service cares deeply about protecting Colorado’s roadless areas,” said U.S. Forest Service Chief Tom Tidwell. “Through collaboration, I believe we have developed a proposal that will afford better, lasting protection to these treasured areas, and we welcome additional comments in order to develop a successful approach for conservation of this special resource.”

The proposed Colorado Roadless Rule:

• Puts more than half a million acres into a higher category of protection than the 2001 Roadless Rule;
• Provides an updated inventory to protect high-quality backcountry areas with true roadless characteristics by removing substantially altered acres from the inventory and adding new acres containing a high level of roadless characteristics;
• Removes existing ski areas from the roadless inventory;
• Provides special protection for the headwaters of cutthroat trout streams;
• Provides flexibility for temporary road construction for underground coal activities, such as methane drainage wells, on 20,000 acres in the North Fork coal mining area; and
• Provides flexibility for temporary road construction for fuels treatments and ecosystem restoration to within one-half mile of communities.

   

The proposed Colorado Roadless Rule and Revised Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) will be printed tomorrow in the Federal Register, but today are available for review and comment online either at the Office of the Federal Register’s website or at the Forest Service website at http://roadless.fs.fed.us/colorado.shtml. Upon tomorrow’s printing, the Forest Service will take comments on this proposed rule for 90 days. Agriculture Secretary Vilsack and Chief Tidwell will consider public input prior to making the decision on the final Colorado Roadless Rule and EIS, which is expected to be signed in late 2011.

The mission of the USDA Forest Service is to sustain the health, diversity, and productivity of the Nation’s forests and grasslands to meet the needs of present and future generations. The Agency manages 193 million acres of public land, provides assistance to states and private landowners, and maintains the largest forestry research organization in the world.

Environmental groups, sportsmen blast plan that weakens forest protections

By Bruce Finley
The Denver Post
Posted: 04/15/2011 01:00:00 AM MDT

Environmental and sportsmen’s groups are mobilizing to toughen the government’s latest plan to protect remaining roadless national forest land in Colorado.

A draft plan unveiled Thursday by federal and state forest stewards weakens the current national rule, they say, by making exceptions for new roads for coal-mining, ski areas and tree-cutting to prevent wildfires in beetle-ravaged forests near towns.

The current national rule, established under President Bill Clinton, blocks most road-building on 4.4 million acres of relatively pristine forest in Colorado, where there are about 14.5 million acres of national forest.

Nine Colorado environmental groups rejected the updated policy.

“The plan offers no solution to imminent development of existing oil and gas leases within Colorado roadless areas. And it would allow new coal mining, utility corridors, and other development activity inside the forest backcountry,” the groups said in a coalition statement.

“A Colorado-specific rule is not needed because there’s already a carefully-crafted, strongly supported national rule in place,” the group wrote. “Any rule that is finalized should provide at least the level of protection found in the (current) national roadless rule.”

The new plan reflects months of work to update Clinton-era land inventories and balance local desires against forest health needs. The work resulted in a “a much tighter, much better rule,” said state natural resources director Mike King.

The plan would limit roads for tree-cutting in dead and dying forests to an area within a half-mile of towns. Tree-cutting crews and machinery could move another mile off-road. Roads would be allowed around existing ski areas.

The exception for coal companies on Colorado’s Western Slope would allow temporary roads for drilling and maintaining methane gas vents needed for expansion of underground mining. This allowance could save 879 coal-mining jobs with labor income estimated at $63.9 million.

The plan also would introduce tiered protections with exceptions ruled out on 562,000 acres of top-priority forest.

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, who must decide on a plan, had called for designating top-priority land after receiving an earlier draft plan last year from then-Gov. Bill Ritter.

But tiering “creates a new level of complexity and uncertainty, and it creates second-class roadless areas,” said Jane Danowitz, public lands program director for the Pew Environment Group in Washington D.C.

Meanwhile, federal courts remain split on the legality of the Clinton-era rule.

The 10th Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver is expected to rule on the challenges by the Obama administration and environmental groups of a Wyoming federal judge’s 2008 injunction against the national rule. The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco has ruled in favor of the national rule, rejecting a Bush administration bid to open forests to development.

“Depending on where the courts come out, it could influence this,” said Rick Cables, regional Forest Service chief.

If courts reject the national rule, individual forest managers would decide how many new roads to allow for drilling, logging and other activities based on regularly revised local plans, Cables said.

“We wanted to take an affirmative stance,” he said.

Bruce Finley: 303-954-1700 or bfinley@denverpost.com