In Aspen speech, Ritter defends his roadless position

Gov. Bill Ritter in Aspen Thursday night defended his position on roadless lands, which has been under fire from environmentalists. Ritter said his administration believes it is best to make “carve-outs” in roadless areas so there can be vehicular access to water-system infrastructure and powerlines. Colorado has about 4.5 million acres of roadless public lands. “Our process protected 95 or 96 percent of all roadless areas in the state but made carve-outs,” Ritter said. His administration was working on a state-specific roadless position while President Bush was still in office. Once President Obama took office, his secretary of agriculture, Tom Vilsack, asked Colorado to resubmit its position. More public comment was collected, and the state's final proposal is being drafted for federal government review. Ritter commented on his team's work on roadless issues while he spoke in Aspen at a conference on the bark beetle epidemic hosted by a local nonprofit organization, For the Forest. “It is still our intention to do as much as we can to protect as much we can in terms of roadless,” Ritter said...read more