THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
August 6, 2009, Judith Kohler

Environmentalists say a federal appeals court decision reinstating most of a 2001 federal policy protecting roadless forests across the country means Colorado doesn't need its own management plan for the backcountry. The ruling Wednesday by the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco restored most of a policy approved by the Clinton administration in 2001 that barred roads and other development on about 58 million acres of forest nationwide. That included more than 4 million acres of roadless areas in Colorado. "This decision is really a game changer in the decades-long fight to protect these areas," said Jane Danowitz, director of the Washington, D.C-based Pew Environment Group. Colorado officials, however, note that the legal battle isn't over, making a state policy crucial. An appeal is pending before the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver on a federal judge's repeal of the Clinton-era roadless rule. ...

http://www.examiner.com/a-2155086~Debate_on_Colorado_roadless_plan_continues.html