Lisa Reynolds Kaplan Kirsch & Rockwell LLP January 29, 2013

1. Lisa Reynolds Kaplan Kirsch & Rockwell LLP January 29, 2013

2. Roadless Areas • Approximately 30% of national forest lands • Excludes wilderness areas, national parks • Generally undeveloped, 5,000 acres or greater • Important characteristics: • High quality or undisturbed soil, water and air • Sources of public drinking water • Diversity of plant and animal communities

3. Roadless Area Protection • Watershed protection • Biological diversity • Outdoor recreation • High quality scenery

4. History of Roadless Area Management • Pre-2001: Forest plans • 2001 • Nationwide Roadless Area Conservation Rule • 66 Fed. Reg. 3244 (Jan. 12, 2001) • Superseded Forest plans • Litigation • Preliminary injunction issued by District of Idaho (May) • Vacated by Ninth Circuit (October) ……continued

5. History, cont’d • cont’d • 2003 • Federal judge in Wyoming enjoined the 2001 Rule • 2005 • Bush administration repealed 2001 Rule and adopted “State Petitions Rule” • Challenge filed in California district court • 10th Circuit dismissed appeal of Wyoming injunction of 2001 Rule as moot • 2006 • California district court vacated State Petitions Rule and reinstated 2001 Rule • Forest Service announced it would accept state petitions under the APA, section 553(e) • Gov. Owens submitted petition for Colorado Rule

6. History, cont’d • 2007 • Wyoming challenged the 2001 Rule • 2008 • Wyoming federal district court invalidated and enjoined the 2001 Rule, creating conflict with California district court decision to reinstate 2001 Rule • USFS published DEIS on Colorado Rule • 2009 • 9th Circuit affirmed reinstatement of 2001 Rule • Obama administration appealed the Wyoming court injunction of the 2001 Rule

7. History, cont’d • 2010 • Colorado submitted revised petition • 2011 • USFS published Revised DEIS on Colorado Rule • 10th Circuit vacated Wyoming injunction, upholds 2001 Rule • 2012 • Final approval and adoption of the Colorado Rule

8. Administrative Procedures Act Section 553(e) • Section 553: Rulemaking • (e) Each agency shall give an interested person the right to petition for the issuance, amendment, or repeal of a rule.

9. State Specific Rules • 2008: Idaho Roadless Area Management • 36 C.F.R. §§ 294.20-29 • 2012: Colorado Roadless Area Management • 36 C.F.R. §§ 294.40-49

10. 2001 Rule • No new or reconstructed roads • No logging or other tree-cutting • No new mineral leases allowing for road construction • Limited exceptions • Allows motorized uses, grazing, oil and gas development that do not require road construction

11. Colorado’s Roadless Rule • Updates inventory of roadless acreage • 4,186,000 acres in roadless areas • Retains the general approach of 2001 • No tree-cutting • No road-building • Adds “Upper Tier” protections • Expands exceptions to general prohibitions • Restricts linear construction zones

12. Colorado’s Roadless Areas U.S. Department of Agriculture

13. The Upper Tier • Upper Tier Areas • 1,219,000 acres (approx. ¼) • Road construction permitted only • If necessary for reserved or outstanding rights • To protect public safety (fire, flood, other imminent catastrophic event) • Tree-cutting permitted if • Incidental to implementation of a management activity • Personal or administrative use

14. Colorado Roadless Areas Upper Tier Acres U.S. Department of Agriculture

15. Expanded Exceptions under the Colorado Rule • Energy development • Oil and gas • Coal • Water projects • Wildfire prevention/hazardous fuels management • Ski areas

16. Oil and Gas Development in Roadless Areas • Pre-2012 leases: • Rights under existing leases are unaffected • “Gap leases” • Post-2012 leases: • Upper Tier: NSO stipulations required • Non-Upper Tier: road construction prohibited

17. Gap leases Map Courtesy of Pew Environment Group

18. Coal Resource Development • Exception for North Fork area • 19,000 acres • Permits temporary roads for exploration and development • Includes methane venting

19. Water Resource Systems in Colorado Roadless Areas • Upper Tier: linear construction zones • Non-Upper Tier: road construction • Water conveyance structure must be • Operated pursuant to “pre-existing water court decree” • Includes absolute and conditional rights applied for on or before July 3, 2012

20. Wildfire/Hazardous Fuels • Community Protection Zones (CPZs) • Within ½ mile of at-risk community • Within 1.5 miles of if identified in Wildfire Protection Plan or has certain geographic features • Tree-cutting permitted in non-Upper Tier • In CPZ, to protect at-risk community or municipal water supply (non-Upper Tier only) • Anywhere in or out of CPZ if “significant risk” to municipal water supply system • Temporary road permitted within first ½ mile of CPZ

21. Linear Construction Zones • In 10th Circuit: LCZs are not roads, so not prohibited by 2001 Rule • Wilderness Workshop v. U.S. Bureau of Land Management, 531 F.3d 1220 (10th Cir. 2008) • Colorado Rule generally prohibits linear construction zones in Roadless Areas with major exceptions

22. Linear Construction Zones Permitted • Upper tier • Water conveyance structures (ditches, canals, and dams) • For reserved and outstanding rights • Non-upper tier • Water conveyance structures • Transmission lines • Oil and gas pipelines (no pass-throughs) • Telecommunications lines • Regional Forester approval required

23. Safeguards • Responsible Official or Regional Forester approval • Watershed conservation practices • Maintenance or improvement of roadless area characteristics • Limited road use • NEPA requirements

24. Resources • USFS Roadless Area Conservation website: • fs.usda.gov/roadless/ • Includes Colorado Roadless Rule website with NEPA documents • Earthjustice Timeline • http://earthjustice.org/print/features/timeline-of-the-roadless-rule

25. Major Roadless Rule Court Opinions • Kootenai Tribe of Idaho v. Veneman, 313 F.3d 1094 (9th Cir. 2002) (denying request for preliminary injunction against 2001 Rule) • Wilderness Workshop v. U.S. Bureau of Land Management, 531 F.3d 1220 (10th Cir. 2008) (Bull Mountain Pipeline case) • Wyoming v. United States Dep’t of Agriculture, 570 F. Supp.2d 1309 (D. Wyo. 2008) (vacating 2001 Rule) • State of California ex rel. Lockyer v. United States Dep’t of Agriculture, 575 F.3d 999 (9th Cir. 2009) (rejecting 2005 State Petitions Rule and reinstating 2001 Rule) • Wyoming v. United States Dep’t of Agriculture, 661 F.3d 1209 (10th Cir. 2011) (upholding and reinstating the 2001 Rule)

26. Questions