“If everybody minded their own business the world would go around a great deal faster than it does.” The Queen, Alice in Wonderland

A group of what I am sure are well meaning environmentalist’s calls for a denial of special roadless rules in Colorado. The group is pushing President Obama to turn down Colorado Governor Bill Ritter’s request that would make exceptions to the enforcement of the rules for coal mines, ski areas and fire prevention projects near towns.

Sounds reasonable if these folks were living here in Colorado and experiencing Colorado but these folks are from South Carolina and their reasoning without ever having seen the millions of acres of forests in our State is: “What is at risk is the loss of what makes Colorado so special to the rest of the country.”

So South Carolinian's want Colorado to stay as pristine as they imagine it to be. Those evil coal companies and ski resorts – who needs them – certainly not those in South Carolina. And just what is their argument when it comes to fighting forest fires?

The South Carolinian’s are worried about 50,000 acres of ‘pristine’ forest here in Colorado that would be affected. As I sit here in Durango, at the edge of 2.2 million acres of the San Juan National Forest which sits within a state with 15 million acres of National Forest and an additional few million acres of designated Wilderness Areas I have to question South Carolina’s motives. Oh, that’s right, they are experts after all with their one National Forest – the Frances Marion and Sumter National Forest and its 629,000 acres – I guess 50,000 acres does seem like a lot to them when it comes right down to it.