Page 72 - Agenda 21

Page 72 of 121

officials from building and maintaining roads that allow firefighters to clear out growth that could
instantly become tinder for a new fire.” That Roadless Area Conservation Rule classified 31% of
national forest land as “Inventoried Roadless Areas.” The roadless rule increases the risk of wildfires
impacting water supplies and prevents the building and maintaining of water conveyance structures.
http://www.redstate.com/aarongardner/2012/07/11/clinton-era-environmental-rules-increased-
wildfire-risks-in-colorado/

“Dead timber, lost jobs, contaminated water, and landscapes eviscerated by catastrophic wildfire are
hallmarks of a bureaucratic process that places politics and inaction ahead of common sense and
conservation.”
http://tipton.house.gov/press-release/witnesses-tell-tipton-access-needed-curb-catastrophic-
damage-western-forests

Here’s a timeline describing Colorado’s massive wildfires since 1990:
http://www.denverpost.com/ci_20753857/interactive-timeline-history-major-wildfires-colorado

“Barry Noon [Colorado Environmental Coalition] claimed that “proposals to harvest bug-infested
stands” don’t make sense due to the effects of roads on ecosystems.”

“As fires began to spark Colorado this year, those who agitated against the Colorado Rule were silent.
Rep. Cory Gardner, a Republican, began to question whether the enforcement of the 2001 Roadless
Rule was a contributing factor to the conditions that allowed wildfires to spread so rapidly, burning
tens of thousands of national forest land and ultimately destroying nearly seven hundred homes. “We
will be asking for a full-blown investigation into whether or not roadless policies contributed to the
severity of this fire,” Gardner told the Fort Collins Coloradoan.

For his concern, Gardner was met with criticism from Colorado Democrats. Senate President Brandon
Shaffer accused Gardner of politicizing the fires, telling the Colorado Independent, “It’s unfortunate
that he wants to politicize this fire,” and “there’s no room for politicking.” Colorado Democratic Party
Chairman Rick Palacio added, “we get this distraction and politicization from Congressman Gardner.
This is completely inappropriate; he owes Coloradans an apology.” None of these admonishments
were voiced when Rep. Jarid Polis received a VIP tour of the High Park Fire Command Center, which
is outside of Polis’ district, potentially violating congressional ethics rules.

Gardner, along with Representatives Scott Tipton, Doug Lamborn, and Mike Coffman, have banded
together in the midst of the tragic Colorado fire season to propose legislation that would increase local
control over forest management and wildfire prevention. Lamborn’s office released a statement on the
proposal of the Healthy Forest Management Act of 2012 [H.R. 6089] on his Congressional web site.
The release summarizes the legislation stating that “By allowing governors, in consultation with
county commissioners from affected counties as well as affected Indian tribes, to designate high-risk
areas and develop emergency hazardous fuels reduction projects for those areas, states can better
protect their communities, species habitats, water supplies, and natural areas, and help ameliorate
those conditions that lead to unhealthy forests and wildfires.”
http://www.redstate.com/aarongardner/2012/07/11/clinton-era-environmental-rules-increased-
wildfire-risks-in-colorado/