Posted by Aaron Gardner (Diary)
Environmental regulations restricting the construction of forest
access roads have limited the ability of the Forest Service to clear
combustible brush and trees, adding dangerous fuel to the wildfires that
have ravaged Colorado this summer. The so-called “roadless rule,” which
was first implemented in 2001 by President Clinton shortly before he
left office, restricts and in many cases prohibits local and federal
officials from building and maintaining roads that allow firefighters to
clear out growth that could instantly become tinder for a new fire.
The Roadless Area Conservation Rule, regularly referred to as the
2001 roadless rule, was adopted in January of 2001 and classified 31
percent of national forest lands in Colorado as Inventoried Roadless
Areas (IRA’s). Four of the national forests that fell under the IRA
classification did so based on inventories from 1979, four more were
classified as IRA’s based on inventories from 1996, 1997, 1998, and
2002.
Read More Via Red State
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