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Statement of Need: The Department of Agriculture is committed to conserving and managing roadless values and considers inventoried roadless areas an important component of the National Forest System. The roadless rule has been the subject of 10 lawsuits in Federal district courts in Idaho, Utah, North Dakota, Wyoming, Alaska, and the District of Columbia. On July 14, 2003, the U.S. District Court for the District of Wyoming found the 2001 roadless rule to be unlawful and ordered that the rule be permanently enjoined. On May 13, 2005, the Forest Service promulgated the State Petitions Rule. The State Petitions Rule allowed Governors to voluntarily seek establishment of or adjustment of management requirements for National Forest System inventoried roadless areas within their States. If a petition was not received within 18 months, inventoried roadless areas would be guided by individual land management plans. It also established the Roadless Area Conservation National Advisory Committee (RACNAC) to make recommendations on State-petitions to the Secretary. With the promulgation of the State Petitions Rule, the Tenth Circuit, which was reviewing an appeal by intervenors of the Wyoming court’s decision, dismissed the case as moot. Under the guidance of the State Petitions Rule the States of California, Idaho, New Mexico, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia filed a petition with the Secretary. The Secretary instructed the Forest Service to enter into rulemaking for North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia. Two lawsuits were filed against the State Petitions Rule in the Federal district court for the Northern District of California. One suit was filed by the States of California, New Mexico, Oregon, and Washington with the State of Montana being amicus curiae in support of plaintiffs; and the States of Alaska and Idaho are amici curiae to USDA. The other lawsuit was filed by a coalition of environmental groups. On September 20, 2006, the Federal district court enjoined the State Petitions Rule and reinstated the roadless rule. In an effort to again re-enjoin the roadless rule, the State of Wyoming filed a second lawsuit in the Federal district court for Wyoming on January 12, 2007. Oral hearing for this lawsuit was held October 19 and decision is pending. With the reinstatement of roadless rule, the Under Secretary announced that interested States could still petition the Secretary pursuant to 5 U.S.C. section 553(e) and 7 CFR section 1.28. On November 13, 2006, Colorado Governor Bill Owens submitted his petition under these authorities. On April 11, 2007, Colorado Governor Bill Ritter resubmitted the petition with amendments. The RACNAC reviewed the petition and made recommendations to the Secretary on August 2, 2007. Collaboratively working on the establishment of a State-specific roadless rule for the petitioning State will allow the State the level of management of inventoried roadless areas it seeks to best meet its needs in balance with the Department’s and Forest Service’s goals for the conserving and managing roadless values nationally. In addition, it will allow for the management of these lands in that State without being affected by other legal actions concerning the roadless rule or State Petitions Rule.

Summary of the Legal Basis: On January 12, 2001, the Department of Agriculture promulgated the Roadless Area Conservation Rule to provide for the conservation and management of approximately 58.5 million acres of inventoried roadless areas within the National Forest System under the principles of the Multiple-Use Sustained-Yield Act of 1960. The State of Colorado has petitioned the Secretary pursuant to 5 U.S.C. section 553(e) and 7 CFR section 1.28 for state-specific rules to replace this national rule.

Alternatives: The Forest Service is preparing environmental impact statements in support of the rulemaking effort. Besides the proposed rule, two alternatives are being considered: (1) Continuation of the RACR for management of these inventoried roadless areas, and (2) using existing forest plans and future forest plan revisions to determine the management of these areas.

Anticipated Costs and Benefits: The proposed rule is an economically significant rule, and will have an annual effect of more than $100 million or more on the economy nor adversely affect productivity, competition, jobs, the environment, public health or safety, nor State or local governments. This proposed rule is not expected to interfere with an action taken or planned by another Agency nor raise new legal or policy issues. This proposed rule will not alter the budgetary impact of entitlements, grants, user fees, or loan programs or the rights and obligations of recipients of such programs. Furthermore, the proposed rule is programmatic in nature, consisting of direction for road construction, road reconstruction, timber harvesting, special uses including ski resorts, and discretionary mineral activities, which would be applied to future management activities on inventoried roadless areas in Colorado.

Risks: The rule is programmatic in nature and would constrain certain activities that would reduce roadless area characteristics. Reducing or controlling the development of these lands will reduce the risk of environmental effects associated with development activities like road construction, timber harvesting, and mineral extraction. Therefore soil, water, and air quality; sources of drinking water; diversity of plant and animal communities; habitat for threatened, endangered, proposed, candidate, and sensitive species dependent on large, undisturbed areas of land; scenic quality; traditional cultural properties and sacred sites; and other locally unique characteristics would be maintained.