Entering the Arkansas Valley from Trout Creek Pass, one has a westward view that reveals the splendor of the Kreutzer-Princeton Roadless Area. Encompassing more than 47,000 acres from Chalk Cliffs at the foot of Mt. Princeton to Mt. Kreutzer on the Continental Divide, the Kreutzer-Princeton Roadless Area supports rich vegetative diversity, including piñon-juniper, mountain scrublands and meadows, ponderosa pine, bristlecone and limber pine, lodgepole pine, aspen, spruce fir, and tundra. Streams cascade down from the higher elevations through wetlands, lakes, and beaver ponds before rushing on to the Arkansas River. South Cottonwood Creek, with headwaters in Mineral Basin, carves a valley through the center of the roadless, a haven for wildlife in spite of the presence of anglers, campers, off road vehicles, and hikers.

This roadless area provides essential habitat for dwindling populations of native wildlife, including the rare Northern leopard frog and boreal toad. Bighorn sheep and mountain goats commandeer the rocky cliffs; deer and elk use the moderate slopes. Not surprisingly, there is suitable habitat for lynx, but for now the predator role falls to mountain lions and coyotes.

"The most pressing issue in the Pike-San Isabel is increasing recreational uses of all kinds, especially motorized recreation. The Pike-San Isabel is a short drive from major population centers, including Denver and Trinidad. With increasing population growth and development of residential communities, the demand for recreation is escalating. Roadless areas are the best insurance for good water quality, wildlife habitat and backcountry recreation - they balance the intensive human uses in other areas. It would be foolish to give them up."
- Jean Smith, Upper Arkansas and South Platte Project, Denver

"For nearly 30 years, we have provided outdoor clothing and gear to people from all over the country and the world. Fully 90 percent of these customers were visiting public lands to enjoy self-propelled, non-motorized activities. Many of them had traveled great distances to get here so they could enter roadless areas and escape the noisy, motorized world. Viewing wildlife is a high priority and is highly valued by the vast majority of our customers. Roadless areas are an extremely valuable economic resource to my business and to the entire community. These areas constitute a valuable and diminishing resource that must be protected."
- Dick Scar, businessman and co-owner of The Trailhead, Buena Vista

Roadless Rule Would Protect Kreutzer-Princeton from Road Building
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 687,000 roadless acres on the Pike-San Isabel National Forest, which lies at the heart of Colorado's Rocky Mountains. If the Rule is revoked, the Kreutzer-Princeton Roadless Area and dozens of other equally beautiful roadless wildlands on the Pike-San Isabel could be logged, roaded, or otherwise developed.

Other Roadless Areas on the Pike-San Isabel National Forests
The Chipeta-Ouray Roadless Area provides a critical travel corridor for the Canada lynx, a federally and state-listed species. The Gunbarrel Roadless Area provides habitat for two other federally listed species, the federally threatened Mexican spotted owl and the federally threatened Pawnee montane skipper, a butterfly found only in the South Platte River Valley. There are more than 50 roadless areas larger than 5,000 acres on the Pike-San Isabel National Forest, including much prime, low-elevation wildlife habitat.

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.