About 4.2 million roadless acres of National Forest land in Colorado will remain protected despite the Trump administration’s announcement Monday that 59 million acres of roadless set-asides in Western states would be opened to development, according to assurances given to Gov. Jared Polis by the U.S. secretary of agriculture.
Colorado negotiated a separate “roadless rule” agreement with the U.S. Forest Service after extensive statewide stakeholder meetings in the early 2000s, and the petition to have unique state rules was approved by federal authorities in 2012 under the Obama administration.
Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said Monday at a Western Governors Association meeting in New Mexico that the administration was moving to rescind the roadless rule nationally, opening up tens of millions of acres to roadbuilding for timber harvest and other potential resource extraction.
That announcement, which riled advocacy groups and local officials nationwide, does not apply to Colorado, a Polis spokesperson said Wednesday.
“At the Western Governors’ Association this week Gov. Polis confirmed with Secretary Rollins directly that the USDA Secretary’s announcement will not impact the Colorado Roadless Rule, and that the Colorado Roadless Rule will remain intact,” Polis spokesperson Shelby Wieman said.
A USDA spokesperson in Washington, D.C., confirmed that assessment in an email early Thursday.
“The Colorado state-specific roadless rule was part of the Administrative Procedures Act petitions and will not be affected by rescinding the 2001 Roadless Rule,” the USDA said.
Colorado environmental groups, initially upset by the roadless decision, were heartened by the possibility that millions of acres with hard-fought protections could stay out of bounds to development. But they’d like to see it in writing.
Advocacy groups said they are seeking a transcript of any conversation between Polis and Rollins at the governor’s meeting to better understand how and why Colorado will be carved out of the roadless decision. Idaho, the other state with a separately petitioned agreement on roadless areas with the Forest Service, is also apparently exempt from the Trump announcement.
“Even if that’s what the Trump administration is saying, that doesn’t mean that’s what they’ll do. They’re not necessarily known for being straight, transparent or sticking to their word,” said Joshua Hicks, director of conservation campaigns for The Wilderness Society and based out of Lakewood.
In signaling an end to the roadless rule, at least in other states, Rollins cited the need for more firefighting roads and logging roads to both cull forests for wildfire mitigation and to give a boost to the nation’s timber industry.
One factor that could help Colorado maintain its rule is that the early 2000s negotiations allowed for “tree cutting and temporary road building near communities to reduce fire hazards” on 3 million of the 4.2 million roadless acres, according to a Wilderness Society fact sheet.
Other key points of the Forest Service-approved petition for a separate Colorado roadless rule include:
- 1.2 million acres of roadless area are designated “upper tier,” meaning they are especially precious territory and allow fewer exceptions for logging or roadbuilding even to accommodate existing oil and gas leases or highway projects.
- 8,300 acres of the Colorado roadless areas receive no protection, as they are designated for potential ski area expansion and development.
- Temporary coal mining access roads are allowed on 19,100 roadless acres in the North Fork area of the Gunnison National Forest, near Colorado’s largest remaining coal mine at West Elk.
Outdoors advocates ranging from the Sierra Club to hunting and fishing groups have long defended roadless designations. Portions of the more pristine roadless areas are often nominated by members of Congress and other interest groups for even tighter Wilderness Area protections.
The Wilderness Society says roadless areas, which often adjoin official wilderness areas or national parks, can “form larger, more well-connected blocks of unfragmented habitat,” as well as corridors for wildlife migration and foraging.
The Forest Service undertook multiple studies of roadless areas for possible wilderness designation beginning in the early 1970s, often sued along the way by various states and advocacy groups that wanted either more or less acreage set aside. In January 2001, at the end of the second Clinton administration, the Roadless Area Conservation Rule took effect, including 58.5 million acres nationally and 4.4 million acres in Colorado, according to the Forest Service.
After more challenges, a state petitions system was set up in 2005 to allow some states to develop their own roadless definitions and exemptions and seek approval from the Forest Service. Colorado’s legislature created a task force that submitted petitions and revisions through 2010, winning final approval in 2012.
While Colorado may enjoy continuing protections, state wildland lovers should look out for their neighbors, said Mark Pearson of the San Juan Citizens Alliance.
“Good to hear that Colorado’s roadless forests will keep their existing protections,” Pearson said. “Many folks around Colorado recreate and enjoy roadless areas in our neighboring states too, though. Many of us in southwest Colorado frequent areas across the state line in Utah and New Mexico as well, so the impact of stripping roadless area protections across the rest of the country will still have far-reaching ramifications.”
