And Still There Will Be No Roads

In an article that the Gazette did not put on the Internet it reported:

Every large, mature lodgepole pine forest in Colorado and Southern Wyoming will be dead within three to five years...

In an effort to dodge blame, Mark Udall and his wild eyed allies in the environmentalist movement have claimed that this is a natural event, happening every 150 years. The US Forest Service disagrees:

Rick Cables, the US Forest service's regional supervisor described the die-off as "a huge, unprecedented event with major social and economic implications.

Perhaps most at stake are the state's water supplies. A lack of soil cover and the potential for forest fires as the dying trees dry out could leave reservoirs and rivers clogged with sediment more likely to pour off the landscape.

It is time for Mark Udall and his Sierra Club allies to recognize that this disaster needs to be managed, and that it cannot be managed without a reasonable access to the trees. That means roads. They supposedly love wilderness but don't much care if it is green or brown.

Democrats At War On Colorado Economy

In a scathing editorial that did not mention Mark Udall's name, but easily could have, the Gazette once again used the word "extremist"

Gov. Bill Ritter stepped off a helicopter and into hot water July 3, when, after an aerial tour of Northwestern Colorado with Sen. Ken Salazar, he declared that the Vermillion Basin should be off limits to oil and gas drilling. His opposition apparently came in an epiphany. “The governor in a moment of spontaneity asked the pilot to land on the Vermillion,” Ritter spokesman Evan Dreyer told the media. “He felt it would be important to stand on the Vermillion with the senator (Salazar) to get a sense of the place.”

In all this communing with nature, Ritter evidently forgot to consult with local elected officials, who worked for years to draw up a leasing plan they are happy with and who say a drilling ban will cost their citizens millions of dollars in tax and royalty revenues. They weren’t pleased...

Commissioners pointed out that energy development in the basin is something they welcome. But suddenly, after years of consultations and public process, Ritter is attempting to monkey-wrench the arrangement. That’s becoming a pattern with this governor. He’s also attempting to derail oil and gas leases on top of the Roan Plateau, another suddenly sacrosanct area for anti-drilling extremists, and is in the process of packing the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission with people who are indifferent or hostile to the industry.

The Gazette appears to be giving Mark Udall a free ride after twice calling him or his environmentalist policies "extremist." They could easily mention, but didn't, that Udall is a very active Ken Salazar / Bill Ritter ally in this war on the Colorado economy. He has tried to restrict public access to roads on federal property and he has tried to deep six drilling on the Roan.

The editorial is really good from beginning to end. We had a hard time cherry picking items to quote. We suggest you read the whole thing.

Mark Udall Caters to Green Extremists

In a stinging editorial last Sunday, Udall takes wrong fork in the road, the Colorado Springs Gazette called Mark Udall to task for trying to close roads on Federal property to the public:

Today, public lands exclusionists are trying to close or restrict use of these roads as a way of curtailing access to federal lands. “Roadless” advocates are waging war on the miners, ranchers, loggers, and oil and gas developers who also make use of these roads, as well as Americans who recreate on motorized vehicles...

This suggests Udall cares little about the rights of rural Westerners to use byways their great-grandfathers used before Washington “owned” everything, and that he will cater to green extremists and the anti-access elitists if he ever becomes senator. Coloradans wanting to keep their roads and lands open and accessible should keep that in mind.

If you follow the link to read the whole editorial, you should know that the Gazette has a quirk with their editorials. They publish on two subjects but with one link. This is the second editorial, so scroll down to see it.

If you want to see what the green extremists are saying, and who is saying it, follow this pdf link.