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<br />.Front page story <br /> <br />., <br /> <br />002529 <br /> <br />BACK TO THE FRONT PAGE <br /> <br />Resources chief rewrote <br />now comments to be "in <br />the middle" <br /> <br />Some language dropped entirely <br /> <br />By Heather McGregor <br />Staff Writer <br /> <br />State Natural Resources Chief Greg Walcher said he toned <br />down official comments on the White River National Forest <br />Plan to reflect contradictory opinions from inside and outside <br />his agency. <br /> <br />"We came down squarely in the middle, which is where I <br />believe most of the public lives," Walcher said Wednesday. <br /> <br />The state Department of Natural Resources collected <br />comments in mid-December from three of its agencies that <br />govern wildlife, recreation and water, rewrote the comments <br />and submitted them as one document to the U.S. Forest <br />Service on Dec. 28. <br /> <br />The Forest Service is seeking public and agency comment on <br />its proposed plan for the 2.2-million-acre White River <br />National Forest until May 9. The plan will guide forest land- <br />use decisions and management policies for the next 15 years. <br /> <br />A line-by-line comparison of original comments written by <br />the Colorado Division of Wildlife and the version forwarded <br />by the Department of Natural Resources to the Forest Service <br />shows that DOW's most strident comments were watered <br />down or dropped entirely. <br /> <br />"That's really unfortunate," said Dan Honnaechea, White <br />River National Forest planner. "We had a lot of dealings with <br />the Division of Wildlife people on the plan. A lot of their <br />input was used early on in our analysis and developing our <br />alternatives. Their stuff was importanL" <br /> <br />While a member of the public could submit the Division of <br />Wildlife comments to the Forest Service, they would not carry <br />quite the same cachet as those coming directly from a state <br />agency. <br /> <br />http://www.glenwoodindependenLcom/fpc010600.html <br /> <br />Page I of3 <br /> <br />01/06/2000 <br />