Colorado pursues roadless plan amid questions

Colorado officials remain confident in a state plan to protect more than 4 million acres of roadless national forest land despite calls from some environmentalists for the Obama administration to revive a national standard they say would better protect critical wildlife habitat and watersheds. Colorado, one of only two states to write its own roadless plan, is working with the U.S. Forest Service to clarify language and review why the agency didn't designate certain areas as roadless. The state hopes to complete work in the next six months on rules officials say will protect the land while legal battles continue over a Clinton administration policy. The Clinton administration in 2001 banned new roads on about 58 million acres of forests nationwide. But the rule's status is uncertain following court rulings and a 2005 Bush administration policy that opened some of the land to development. Supporters of the Clinton-era policy hope President Barack Obama restores it and that Colorado shelves its plan, which they say is weaker...examiner.com