One of the great benefits of living in Colorado is having abundant wilderness available and roadless areas within our public lands. These wild places provide so many benefits to the State, serving as a home to an abundant array of wildlife, clean water at the headwaters of our major rivers, and great scenery; one of the things that Colorado is famous for. But all of that may now be threatened as the current Bush Administration is offering States the opportunity to determine how these roadless areas should be managed.

BACKGROUND

Identification of roadless areas has been a long standing effort by the United States Forest Service (USFS). In the late 1970's USFS began an inventory of roadless areas on National Forests. The studies were then repeated several years later. The final result was the identification of some 58.5 million acres that qualify as roadless throughout the National Forest System. In Colorado the eleven National Forests includes about 14.5 million acres of which approximately 4.5 million acres were designated roadless.

In May 2005 the Bush Administration issued a rule that allows States to identify other potential uses of roadless lands. The rule did provide continued protection for 935,619 existing acres but removed protection for about 3,497,634 acres. Following the rule Colorado created a 13 member, bi-partisan, Task Force to identify what the future uses of these lands should be. Of greatest concern is having the land open to mining or development that would bring roads to these pristine isolated areas.

The Task Force is currently holding meetings around the State, in areas most affected by the rule. The purpose of the meetings is to hold open discussion on the issues surrounding potential land use changes and on comments received from the public. There will be a total of 12 public/Task Force meetings; two having already been held. A meeting will be in Denver on February 24, at a location yet to be named.

Colorado's Department of Natural Resources is the lead State agency in this initiative. DNR's Director, Russ George, is the Chairman of the Task Force. DNR maintains an official website for information on the initiative at: http://www.dnr.state.co.us.

TROUT UNLIMITED CONCERNS

Trout Unlimited immediately became involved in the roadless review and has committed substantial resources to protect the interest of trout in this review. When the rule was issued in May TU published a news release identifying its' concerns with this ill conceived measure. It has made "keeping roadless public wildlands wild and roadless" a key initiative in its Public Lands Initiative. TU is maintaining a staff of about a dozen professionals, spread across the west, to address this issue. David Petersen, located in Durango, CO is leading the effort here and is a member of the Task Force. Colorado TU's position can be found at their website: http://www.cotrout.org.
CTU published an article on the roadless initiative in the Fall 2005 issue of High Country Angler, as part of its' Conservation Corner. The article gives a clear understanding of the issues and can be accessed at: http://www.hcamagazine.com.

On January 4, 2006 CTU is scheduled to release the report "Where The Wild Lands Are: Colorado." This comprehensive report makes a solid case for leaving roadless areas roadless and provides a number of talking points that would be useful for commentators.

VALUE OF ROADLESS AREAS

Colorado's roadless areas in the National Forests are frequently found in the higher elevations and form the headwaters of many of our major rivers. The resource values are numerous and cannot be replaced once they are lost. TU's report on Colorado roadless areas identifies their principal values as:
o Providing the primary source of cold, clean water for popular mainstream
o fisheries
o Providing the majority of habitat for all three of Colorado's native cutthroat subspecies: greenback, Rio Grande and Colorado River
o Providing premium un-crowded angling opportunities
o Providing habitat for big game species and non-game species on public lands
o Improving herd health
o Promoting hunter satisfaction
o Enhancing trophy production and quality hunting opportunity
o Creating an aesthetic resource that Colorado is famous for

These values are not merely "nice things to have." They translate into real economic benefit to the communities near the roadless areas. Further, these values are sustainable and with proper management can be enjoyed in perpetuity. Tourism is a major economic force in Colorado employing 8 percent of the State's workforce. It was valued at more than $1.5 billion in 2001 and provided more than 20,000 jobs. The state-wide economic impacts of hunting and fishing in 2002 were calculated as:
o Fishing $820 million
o Elk hunting $340.1 million
o Deer hunting $97.5 million
o Other big game hunting: $12 million
o Small game hunting: $153 million

Wildlife watching is another major activity that takes advantage of roadless areas. Its' value has been estimated at more than $624 million annually. The question that needs to be answered is; does Colorado want there roadless areas to be preserved and managed in a sustainable way or will we choose the short gains that may come from energy development that will be exhausted in a relatively short period of time.

WHAT TU MEMBERS CAN DO

Those who truly love the out of doors and would rather see roadless areas preserved for future generations need to take action now. The task force needs to hear more than one voice in the defense of trout. We all have an opportunity to comment on the necessity to leave the existing road-less areas as they are. The task force will be taking comments on what should be the outcomes of the review. Comments can be submitted through the website or by writing directly to Road-less Area Review Task Force, c/o Natural Resources Department, 1313 Sherman Street, No. 718, Denver, CO, 80203. You can also comment through their website: http://www.dnr.state.co.us. A great resource for talking points for the Task Force is Colorado TU's report: "Where The Wild Lands Are: Colorado."

The Task Force is in the middle of several meetings wherein they will be discussing comments received. While the public will not have the opportunity to speak at some of these meetings our presence will send a strong message of support for the preservation of fisheries habitat for the current road-less areas. If you can find the time to attend then please take the opportunity. The meeting in Denver will be on February 24, 2006. The work of the Task Force is scheduled to end on November 13, 2006