The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is reinstating the North Fork Coal Mining Area exception to the Colorado Roadless Rule. The Colorado Roadless Rule is a State-specific rule that establishes management direction for the conservation of roadless area values and characteristics across approximately 4.2 million acres of land located within the State of Colorado in Roadless Areas on National Forest System (NFS) lands. The North Fork Coal Mining Area exception to the Colorado Roadless Rule provides for the construction of temporary roads, if needed, for coal exploration and coal-related surface activities in the 19,700-acre area defined as the North Fork Coal Mining Area. The Colorado Roadless Rule was promulgated on July 3, 2012, but the U.S. District Court for the State of Colorado ruled that the environmental analysis performed by the U.S. Forest Service on behalf of the USDA pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act was deficient. The Forest Service prepared a Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS) to respond to the specific deficiencies identified in that U.S. District Court ruling. In addition, an administrative correction is being conducted by the USDA for Colorado Roadless Area (CRA) boundaries associated with the North Fork Coal Mining Area based on updated information. The correction adds an additional 200 acres to the roadless area in the 2012 Colorado Roadless Rule. These boundary corrections address changes identified by new road survey information.
Local Knowledge Graph (Top 61 entities)
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Knowledge graph centered on Roadless Area Conservation; National Forest System with 61 nodes and 60 connections. Top connected: Bureau of Land Management (implied via Federal Register), United States Department of the Interior, USDA Forest Service (Uncompahgre National Forest), United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA), Colorado Department of Wildlife (CDOW).
Stakeholders (42)
Agencies, organizations, and groups mentioned as actors in this document.
Bureau of Land Management (implied via Federal Register)United States Department of the InteriorUSDA Forest Service (Uncompahgre National Forest)United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA)Colorado Department of Wildlife (CDOW)U.S. Forest Service (Taylor River District)United States Department of Agriculture (implied AAA)Congress
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Colorado Water Conservation Board (CWCB)Office of Management and Budget (OMB)State of Colorado (Governor's Office)Colorado Department of Health (CDH)Colorado General AssemblyFederal Information Relay Service (FIRS)