Copyright 2000 Denver Publishing Company
DENVER
ROCKY MOUNTAIN NEWS
August 2, 2000, Wednesday
SECTION: Local; Ed. Final; Pg. 30A
LENGTH: 385 words
HEADLINE:
BILLS WOULD PROTECT LAND, CUT FIRE DANGER
BYLINE: By
Kevin McCullen, News Staff Writer
BODY:
Nearly 80,000 acres of roadless areas and the
mountain backdrop west of Rocky Flats would be protected under one of two bills
introduced by Rep. Mark Udall last week.
A second bill, co-sponsored by
Rep. Joel Hefley, R-Colorado, would create a program to reduce fire danger in
mountains adjoining urban areas through thinning and clearing of trees and
prescribed burns, said Udall, a Boulder Democrat.
Udall said Tuesday
that his bill, called the Northern Front Range Roadless Area
and Mountain Backdrop Protection Act, would include roadless
areas in the Arapaho-Roosevelt National Forest and would be confined to
his Second Congressional District. But Udall said he plans to ask Republican
Reps. Bob Schaffer and Scott McInnis if they want to include areas of their
districts in the bill, which would require the Forest Service to forward a
recommendation to Congress in three years on which lands could be recommended
for wilderness or managed for other functions.
A second provision of the
Mountain Backdrop Protection Act would require the Forest Service to study the
ownership patterns of land west of Rocky Flats to determine what might be
developed and what could be preserved as wildlife habitat or for scenic views.
The backdrop study would be finished in one year.
The concerns of
constituents about growth encouraged Udall to sponsor the bill, he said.
"Future generations will judge us harshly if we do not set aside lands
from development," Udall said.
All Forest Service lands in the proposed
Northern Front Range Roadless Area would be managed as wilderness during the
three years of the study, Udall said. Timber harvesting and motorized vehicles
would be prohibited in the study area, but grazing would continue.
The
fire protection bill would seek an appropriation of up to $5
million annually for fire mitigation work in "urban-interface" mountain areas
where homes dot the forest.
State and local agencies would work with
landowners and the Forest Service to reduce hazards, said Doug Young, Udall's
natural resource staff aide. But the bill would also prohibit the thinning of a
healthy tree larger than 12 inches in diameter.
The proposed wild fire
hazard reduction bill would encompass high-risk areas throughout the state,
Udall said.
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