Scientists oppose Colorado roadless-forest proposal

A group of 520 scientists — including several from Colorado — have written to President Barack Obama in opposition to Colorado’s plan to manage some 4.2 million acres of roadless national forest land in the state and in support of existing — and, in their view, tougher — federal roadless rules that have been the subject of a long-running court battle.

In the letter, released Wednesday, the scientists argued that Colorado’s proposed rules would open roadless areas in the state to new coal mining and oil and gas development. They scientists refer to the “scientific importance of this landmark [federal] environmental policy and our concern about attempts to undermine its protections” in Colorado.

The scientists’ effort was under the auspices of the Pew Environment Group, the conservation arm of the Pew Charitable Trusts.

On April 6, Colorado officials submitted a revised plan for management of the state’s roadless forests for consideration by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which oversees the U.S. Forest Service.

The plan reflects state officials’ idea of how Colorado roadless areas should be managed, the end result of a process that began in 2005.

Read the full story in the Denver Business Journal.