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<br />'!~on~afi' December.,201 ,:1.999 <br /> <br />"... ~,!()enVe{1 ROckYiMountain,News <br /> <br />Battle-lines being drawn <br />over national forest plan <br /> <br />Forest Service p:roposal <br />would limit recreation in <br />White River preserve <br /> <br />By Michael Romano <br />News Washington Bu.reau <br /> <br />WASHINGTON - Colorado's busiest, <br />best-known national forest has become the <br />,~entel"piece in an' environmental drama <br />, "'that could help redefine'how America uses <br />. ,its publiclands. ' <br />i; , : The battle is being waged across 2.3 mi]- <br />'lion acres of the White River National For- ' <br />; iest, 'which stretches over nine Colorado <br />, counties and 12 ski areas - including the <br />;: : world-famous resorts of Aspen and Vail. . <br />, "U.S. Forest Service officials and the <br />enVironmental community want to sharply <br />,restrict recreational activity in the ,increas-' <br />ingly crowded forest when a new land-use <br />plan is adopted in the next 18 months or so. <br />But the controversial proposal is fiercely, <br />opposed by developers, 'business groups,' <br />key politicians and a ,host of recreational <br />users who have flocked for years to the for- <br /> <br />estlands. <br />It would, for example, restrict snowmo- <br />bilers to about half the current area they <br />now can use. <br />The stakes are huge because the White' <br />River plan, which mandates a "higher pri- <br />ority be given to physical and biological re- <br />sources than to human use," could become <br />a model for every other heavily trafficked <br />national park in America, experts contend. <br />"This has become an extremely high- <br />profile struggle," saysjeffWiden, associate <br />director of the Colorado, Environmental <br />Coalition. "For the first time, ever, the <br />tables have shifted slightly, and (the Forest <br />Service) is starting to look at another <br />direction - the environmental direction. <br />And it's about time." <br />The prospect of tough new restrictions ' <br />is drawing intense political opposition. <br />Republican Sen. Ben Nighthorse Camp- <br />bell says he will do whatever he can to stop <br />the Forest Service from implementing Al- <br />ternative D, the tentative plan to severely <br />, curb traffic in the forest. <br />. "Either way, it's. going to have a huge <br />national impact," Campbell said. "The <br />opposition to the Forest Service's plan is <br /> <br />Q <br /><.? <br />"'-.\ <br />(J) <br />(\) <br />en <br /> <br />definitely building; I think a lot of people- <br />off-road vehicle users, trail-bike riders, <br />snowmobilers - think they're being <br />locked off the land by this plan. <br />"The forests are supposed to have room <br />for everybody." <br />, A key reason for the focus on White <br />River is the evolving nature of the battle <br />waged by environmentalists. For decades, <br />these groups were fighting timber and <br />mining industIjes imd oil and gas concerns <br />on national forests. <br />But the new adversary has become the <br />recreational users - the skiers who visit <br />Vail, the dirt bikers and the snowmobilers. <br />Visitors to the White River, sometimes <br />, described as America's national ski resort, <br />doubled to about 8.4 million a year between <br />1984 and 1997. ' <br />Campbell has a forceful ally in Rep. Scott <br />Mcinnis, whose 3rd Congressional District <br />includes the White River National Forest. <br />, The Republican lawmaker wants the For - . <br />est Service to start the review process all <br />over agam. <br />Mcinnis and Campbell effectively post- <br /> <br />See WHITE RIVER on 24A <br />