June 19, The Honorable Bill Ritter Governor of Colorado 136 State Capitol Denver, CO Dear Governor Ritter,

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1 June 19, 2009 The Honorable Bill Ritter Governor of Colorado 136 State Capitol Denver, CO Dear Governor Ritter, We, the undersigned outdoor recreation organizations and businesses request that you ensure strong protections for Colorado s backcountry by making important improvements to the proposed Colorado roadless rule. As presently drafted, the Colorado rule does not adequately protect the backcountry and is in need of specific changes and clarifications. Active outdoor recreation contributes more than $10 billion annually to the Colorado economy, supporting 107,000 jobs in the state and generating $500 million annually in state tax revenue. The availability of high quality outdoor recreation opportunities is a major contributing factor to the quality of life in our state. Simply put, many of our members and customers live and work in Colorado because of the recreational opportunities. Inventoried roadless areas play an especially important role in outdoor recreation: offering close to home backcountry landscapes that support a wide range of recreational enjoyment. Attached is a partial list of exceptional outdoor recreational resources in Colorado Roadless Areas, from paddling, climbing and backcountry skiing to biking and hiking trails. Collectively, we believe that roadless areas in Colorado should be protected for their recreational and ecological values. Throughout the Colorado roadless rulemaking process your office has been open to the interests and concerns of Colorado s recreation community. As business owners and recreation groups who depend on Colorado s pristine backcountry, we ask that you to ensure that the Colorado roadless rule is as protective as the national roadless rule. While numerous improvements have been made to the Colorado rule over the past several months, additional changes are needed to sustain Colorado s backcountry.

2 Specifically, we ask that you incorporate the following changes into the Colorado roadless rule: The rule must specifically and unambiguously acknowledge the inherent value of roadless areas and place the various development exceptions in a broader conservation framework. The rule must spell out a cradle to grave approach to long-term temporary roads, especially from a funding perspective, and assure an opportunity for public comment when such routes are contemplated. The Colorado roadless rule should prohibit new power line corridors in the backcountry. Utility developments should be limited to previously developed areas. We support protecting our communities from wildfire, but fuel reduction work should be focused near homes to protect people and property. Road building and timber cutting deep in the backcountry and away from people does not make sense. New road building for fire suppression should be limited to specific circumstances and should only be allowed within the wild land urban interface. New dams, reservoirs, and water projects should not be allowed in the backcountry. We greatly appreciate your receptiveness to our concerns and hope that you will integrate our recommendations into the final rule. We are committed to the development of a strong Colorado roadless rule that conserves our cherished landscapes and sustains our outdoor heritage and quality of life. Thank you. Sincerely, Brady Robinson Access Fund Kenny Ballard Kelty Mike Van Abel International Mountain Bicycling Association Brad Mushovic Outward Bound Wilderness Kim Coupounas CEO and Co-Founder GoLite Nathan Fey Colorado Stewardship Director American Whitewater Chip Coe SmartWool Dan Grunig Bicycle Colorado Leslie Tyson Colorado Whitewater Association

3 Paul Gagner Sierra Designs Keith Baker CEO The Trailhead Roger Schimmel Chairperson Red Mountain Pass Chapter/Backcountry Snowsports Alliance Mike Bellick Slumberjack Sam Mix Marketing Manager Osprey Kay Martin Headsweats Mike Pritchard Director Roaring Fork Mountain Bike Association SwissGear Dayna Macey Director of Communications Backpacker Magazine Andrew Mattox CEO Alpaca Raft Leslie Lovejoy Director Friends of the Routt Backcountry Jonathan Lantz La Sportiva Rodney Smith Backpacker s Pantry Colorado Kayak Supply David Secunda Program Director Avid4 Adventure Greg Floyd and Owner Bent Gate Mountaineering Lee Hart Brand Amp Lou Patterson Principal Category One Bob Wade Owner Ute Mountaineer John Moore ITW Publishing Deb Read Mosaic Community Project Fred Knapp and Co-Founder Sharp End Publishing NC3 Terry Malouf Terry Malouf Consulting Rob Shurr Kickstand Integrated Marketing Wenzel Smoky Anderson Smokey Anderson Inc Tom Gordon Great Plains Mountain Stuff Golden Bike Shop Julia Wieck Owner TONIC Confluence Kayaks Dovetail Communications Action Committee for Eldorado

4 Northern Colorado Climber's Coalition Denver Climbers Coalition Colorado Mountain Club cc: Honorable Mark Udall Honorable Michael Bennett Honorable Dianna DeGette Honorable John Salazar Honorable Ed Perlmutter Honorable Doug Lamborn Honorable Jared Polis Honorable Betsy Markey Honorable Mike Coffman Honorable Tom Vilsack Mr. Jay Jensen Mr. Rick Cables Mr. Harris Sherman Mr. Michael King

5 Attachment: Summary of Human-Powered Recreational Resources in Colorado Roadless Areas Pursuit Area CRA IRA Forest climbing Greyrock Grayrock CRA Greyrock IRA AR hiking/ climbing Grey's and Torres Peak Mount Sniktau Mount Sniktau AR Indian Peaks Adjacent Indian Peaks biking Sourdough Trail Area Adjacent Area AR paddling Joe Wright Creek Comanche Peak Adjacent Comanche Peak Adjacent AR paddling Cache la Poudre Green Ridge East Green Ridge East AR paddling Cache la Poudre Grey Rock Grey Rock AR paddling N Saint Vrain N. St. Vrain RNA N. St. Vrain RNA AR Cameron Pass - Diamond Peaks area Rawah Rawah AR Cameron Pass - Blue Lake trail area Rawah Rawah AR Berthoud Pass - First and Second Creek Vasquez None AR Berthoud Pass - Henderson mine area Vasquez Vasquez AR climbing Ophir Wall removed Ophir Needles GMUG biking Trail 401 removed Elk Mountain- Collegiate GMUG biking Deer Creek Deer Creek Deer Creek GMUG biking Reno Flag Bear Deadman Granite Basin Granite Basin GMUG biking Doctor Park Matchless Mountain Matchless Mountain GMUG Flowing Park Kannah Kannah GMUG In reconfiguring IRAs to CRA boundaries, two important recreation resources lost roadless area protections, the 401 trail outside of Crested Butte (was in the GMUG s Elk Mountain-Collegiate IRAwhich was broken up into multiple CRAs, none of which included this area) and Ophir Wall (was in the GMUG Ophir Needles IRA). The CRA boundaries should be configured to include these two resources.

6 Pursuit Area CRA IRA Forest biking biking Atkinson Bench Johnson Basin Johnson Basin GMUG biking Blue Creek Johnson Basin Johnson Basin GMUG paddling Taylor River Crystal Creek Crystal Creek GMUG paddling Anthricite Creek- Ruby Fork Raggeds Raggeds GMUG Hiking Continental divide from Mt. Epworth to James many biking/ Colorado Trail (Denver hiking/skiing to Durango) many Many many climbing Big Rock Candy Mountain Sheep Rock Sheep Rock PSI Hiking Mt. Elbert PSI biking Monarch Crest Chipeta Chipeta PSI biking Kenosha Pass Jefferson Jefferson PSI biking Twin Lakes Elk Mountain- Collegiate North None PSI paddling S. Platte River 346 Rare Rare 2 PSI paddling Grape Creek 268 Rare2 268 Rare2 PSI Monarch Pass - south side Chipeta Chipeta PSI Willow Mountain Rio Grande paddling Conejos River Willow Mountain biking Walton Peak Walton Peak Routt biking/ Rabbit Ears Pass Long Park Long Park Routt paddling Elk River S. Fork S. Fork Routt paddling Mad Creek Mad Creek Mad Creek Routt Buffalo Pass Long Park Routt Mad Creek Routt Cameron Pass - Seven Utes area Never Summer North Routt Mountain Hermosa Creek Hermosa Hermosa San Juan

7 Pursuit Area CRA IRA Forest biking Paddling Hermosa Creek Hermosa Hermosa San Juan Paddling Animas River E. Animas E. Animas San Juan Paddling Piedra Piedra Piedra San Juan Paddling E. Fork San Juan S. San Juan S. San Juan San Juan Paddling Lime Creek W. Needle W. Needle San Juan Paddling Upper Dolores Storm Peak Storm Peak San Juan Silverton - Red Mountain Pass San Miguel San Juan Climbing Independence Pass North Independent A WR Paddling Grizzly Creek Grizzly Creek Grizzly Creek WR Paddling Piney River Lower Piney Lower Piney WR Skiing Vail Pass Ptarmigan Hill A and B WR