Cherokee Park, north of Fort Collins in Larimer County, is a unique lower-elevation roadless area on the Arapaho-Roosevelt National Forest. Cherokee Park's 7,800 acres include 600 acres of old growth spruce-fir, as well as grassy lowland meadows and ponds, which serve as critical elk calving grounds. The proposed Sheep Creek Timber Sale would invade part of the Cherokee Park Roadless Area where prescribed burning, pre-commercial thinning, and clearcutting would take place. Cherokee Park's remarkable variety of scenic terrain and habitat and their proximity to Fort Collins offer Front Range residents a rare opportunity to visit some of the last remaining wildlands near Colorado's urban centers. Nearly 2 million people live near the Forest, which receives 1.5 million visitors annually. Unfortunately, logging and its associated road development threatens the Cherokee Park Roadless Area.
The Forest Service is hard- pressed to maintain its current road system, which covers 380,000 miles nationwide-enough to circle the at least Earth 15 times. With a backlog of repair and maintenance work estimated at more than $8 billion, adding more roads to an already over-extended travel system does not make economic sense.
And adding more roads will make it harder for tourists and Coloradans "to get away from it all" and enjoy primitive and semi-primitive camping, hiking, fishing, and hunting experiences in Colorado's magnificent backcountry. The Roadless Rule would help ameliorate the situation by prohibiting most new road construction and reconstruction in undeveloped areas, including Cherokee Park. This would help reduce habitat fragmentation and reduce road density forest-wide, greatly benefiting elk and other native species, and safeguard opportunities for recreation in what remains of Colorado's untrammeled backcountry.
"The Arapaho-Roosevelt National Forest is a key contributor to the quality of life in the Boulder-Denver region. Open space provided by roadless areas is critical to maintaining the sense of place that Coloradans love. In the face of the growth that is sweeping across the metropolitan area, roadless areas are very important for both maintaining wildlife habitat and also the high quality of life that is key to our economic health."
- Will Toor, Mayor of Boulder
"Many of our citizens use the roadless areas in the Cache la Poudre Basin for outdoor recreation such as skiing, hiking, river rafting, and kayaking. We feel that the roadless and wilderness areas of this basin are an extremely important part of our quality of life. Since I moved to Fort Collins 20 years ago, the area's population has nearly doubled. The reasons for which I and others moved here are quickly disappearing, which makes protecting roadless areas all the more important."
- Chuck Wanner, Fort Collins City Councilman
Roadless Rule Would Protect Cherokee Park from Road Development and Logging
The Roadless Area Conservation Rule would protect nearly 60 million acres of unspoiled National Forest land across the United States, including 4.4 million acres in Colorado, from road building and most logging. The Rule is under assault by the Bush administration, which appears intent on dismantling it as quickly as possible.
That would be bad news for Colorado and the more than 390,000 roadless acres on the Arapaho-Roosevelt National Forest, which lies at the heart of Colorado's Rocky Mountains. If the Rule is revoked, the Cherokee Park Roadless Area and dozens of other equally beautiful roadless wildlands on the Arapaho-Roosevelt National Forest could be lost to road development and logging.
Other Roadless Areas on the Arapaho-Roosevelt National Forest
The Bard Creek Roadless Area is a towering expanse of cliffs, tundra, and lake-filled glacial cirques northeast of Loveland Pass in Clear Creek County. This spectacular area can be viewed from the approaches to and the tops of Loveland Pass and Berthoud Pass. Comprising more than 25,000 acres, the Bard Creek Roadless Area ranges from an elevation of 8,800 feet to 13,600 feet. It hosts lodge pole, ponderosa pine, aspen, and Douglas fir forests, as well as nearly 700 acres of old growth spruce-fir. It also provides important summer habitat for bighorn sheep and elk.
Roadless Areas Sustain Colorado's High Quality of Life
The Roadless Area Conservation Rule makes good economic sense for Colorado. Our economy and quality of life are tied to Colorado's outstanding public wildlands. Millions of tourists and numerous new businesses and residents come to Colorado each year to enjoy these special places, not to see clearcuts and sediment-filled streams caused by logging and road building. Logging and wood products industries contribute less than one percent to the state's pool of jobs. The Rule would not limit public access to roadless lands for recreation nor would it close any existing roads.
Coloradans Support the Roadless Rule
The Forest Service issued the Rule after three years of research and analysis that included extensive public involvement. More than 600 public meetings were held nationwide, including 27 in Colorado. More than 1.6 million public comments were submitted, including more than 28,000 from Coloradans. The vast majority of comments nationwide and 92 percent of those from Colorado supported the Rule or urged stronger protection for roadless areas than the Rule would provide.
