Speakers call for roadless area protections

[montana500]

you can read daily public land news stories like this at www.wilderness-sportsman.com (news section)


http://casperstartribune.com/articles/2006/02/26/news/regional/b048b9f175cac91f8725711f007821dd.txt

"By JUDITH KOHLER
Associated Press writer Sunday, February 26, 2006

DENVER -- Colorado's wild country helps drive the state economy and makes it easier to lure employers, Mayor John Hickenlooper told a task force Friday as it considered the future of 4.4 million acres of roadless national forest land in the state.

"The $200 million-a-year outdoor gear industry -- and that's just in Colorado -- is a remarkable testimony to the value of these open places," he said.

The Colorado roadless areas are part of 58.5 million acres nationwide put off-limits to development under the Clinton administration, but potentially opened to logging, road-building and other activities by the Bush administration.
"