Read the comments.

Special Areas; Roadless Area Conservation Public Comment,Please don’t let trump destroy this too!Last year, more than 625,000 people from across the United States wrote to the USDA, urging the agency to keep the bipartisan 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule, which protects our forests from wildfires and corporate exploitation.Please do not rescind the Roadless Area Conservation Rule, Secretary Rollins. Allowing road construction and logging in these forests will destroy areas crucial to Native Tribes’ spirituality, culture, identity, and survival. These forests provide clean drinking water for more than 60 million U.S. residents and are crucial ecosystems for the wildlife that Tribal Nations depend on. The U.S. federal government has legal obligations to Tribes, including engaging in early and meaningful government-to-government consultation before making decisions about ancestral Tribal homelands. If you take this step to rescind the Roadless Rule, you will violate Tribal sovereignty and therefore the U.S. Constitution. In your own draft environmental impact statement, the federal government incorrectly claims that rescinding the Roadless Rule is a solution to the wildfire crisis. But fires don’t start without cause, and the U.S. Forest Service itself has stated that 9 out of 10 wildfires are caused by people. In fact, fires are four times more likely to start near a road due to cigarettes thrown from car windows, abandoned camp fires, and hot under-carriages of cars igniting tall dry grass.Over the years, many Tribes have spoken out against repealing or making exceptions to the Roadless Rule. Many have done so in the past year, so I’m writing to lift up their voices and urge you to fulfill your obligations to them. The Central Council of the Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska wrote: “The Tongass is more than an ecosystem -- it is our home. It is the foundation of our identity, our culture, and our way of life.” They explained that this step took place “without any prior consultation with our Tribe or other Southeast Alaska tribes” and called on the USDA to “suspend this decision until meaningful consultation is held with tribal nations, as required under federal law and trust obligations.”Gloria Burns, the President of the Ketchikan Indian Community in Alaska said: “We the people of Kichxáan are the Tongass. You cannot separate us from the land… This is an attack on Tribes and our people who depend on the land to eat. The federal government must act and provide us the safeguards we need or leave our home roadless… Without our lungs (the Tongass) we cannot breathe life into our future generations.”The President of the Organized Village of Kake in Alaska explained: “The remaining old growth timber is so important for providing shelter, the berries, and our medicines. It provides shade for our streams to keep them cool so our salmon can return year after year. We are the people of the forest and salmon people. Salmon has sustained us for thousands of years.” His Tribe also hunts deer and moose, which are rebounding after past clear-cut logging.And the President of the Organized Village of Kasaan in Alaska wrote: “The Roadless Rule has worked well for our Tribe and our community by helping to protect customary and traditional uses of our lands and waters, and the fish, wildlife, trees and plants. This helps us honor our ancestors and provide for current and future generations. It would be a grave mistake to roll back these protections. The Roadless Rule must continue to be upheld across the Tongass National Forest.”Please keep the 2001 Roadless Rule. If you want to make any changes, please meaningfully engage in decision-making with sovereign Tribal Nations, in order to honor your constitutional, trust, and treaty obligations to Tribes.Stephanie Mikulasteph.micoola@gmail.com1144 roland ln Green bay , Wisconsin 54303

Special Areas; Roadless Area Conservation Public Comment,Last year, more than 625,000 people from across the United States wrote to the USDA, urging the agency to keep the bipartisan 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule, which protects our forests from wildfires and corporate exploitation.Please do not rescind the Roadless Area Conservation Rule, Secretary Rollins. Allowing road construction and logging in these forests will destroy areas crucial to Native Tribes’ spirituality, culture, identity, and survival. These forests provide clean drinking water for more than 60 million U.S. residents and are crucial ecosystems for the wildlife that Tribal Nations depend on. The U.S. federal government has legal obligations to Tribes, including engaging in early and meaningful government-to-government consultation before making decisions about ancestral Tribal homelands. If you take this step to rescind the Roadless Rule, you will violate Tribal sovereignty and therefore the U.S. Constitution. In your own draft environmental impact statement, the federal government incorrectly claims that rescinding the Roadless Rule is a solution to the wildfire crisis. But fires don’t start without cause, and the U.S. Forest Service itself has stated that 9 out of 10 wildfires are caused by people. In fact, fires are four times more likely to start near a road due to cigarettes thrown from car windows, abandoned camp fires, and hot under-carriages of cars igniting tall dry grass.Over the years, many Tribes have spoken out against repealing or making exceptions to the Roadless Rule. Many have done so in the past year, so I’m writing to lift up their voices and urge you to fulfill your obligations to them. The Central Council of the Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska wrote: “The Tongass is more than an ecosystem -- it is our home. It is the foundation of our identity, our culture, and our way of life.” They explained that this step took place “without any prior consultation with our Tribe or other Southeast Alaska tribes” and called on the USDA to “suspend this decision until meaningful consultation is held with tribal nations, as required under federal law and trust obligations.”Gloria Burns, the President of the Ketchikan Indian Community in Alaska said: “We the people of Kichxáan are the Tongass. You cannot separate us from the land… This is an attack on Tribes and our people who depend on the land to eat. The federal government must act and provide us the safeguards we need or leave our home roadless… Without our lungs (the Tongass) we cannot breathe life into our future generations.”The President of the Organized Village of Kake in Alaska explained: “The remaining old growth timber is so important for providing shelter, the berries, and our medicines. It provides shade for our streams to keep them cool so our salmon can return year after year. We are the people of the forest and salmon people. Salmon has sustained us for thousands of years.” His Tribe also hunts deer and moose, which are rebounding after past clear-cut logging.And the President of the Organized Village of Kasaan in Alaska wrote: “The Roadless Rule has worked well for our Tribe and our community by helping to protect customary and traditional uses of our lands and waters, and the fish, wildlife, trees and plants. This helps us honor our ancestors and provide for current and future generations. It would be a grave mistake to roll back these protections. The Roadless Rule must continue to be upheld across the Tongass National Forest.”Please keep the 2001 Roadless Rule. If you want to make any changes, please meaningfully engage in decision-making with sovereign Tribal Nations, in order to honor your constitutional, trust, and treaty obligations to Tribes.Don't cheat the Tribal Nations yet again, as they've been cheated by so many treaties in the past.Linda Myattlmyatt@hotmail.com310 W Old Main StMilton, Iowa 52570

Special Areas; Roadless Area Conservation Public Comment,Last year, more than 625,000 people from across the United States wrote to the USDA, urging the agency to keep the bipartisan 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule, which protects our forests from wildfires and corporate exploitation.Do not rescind the Roadless Area Conservation Rule, Secretary Rollins. Allowing road construction and logging in these forests will destroy areas crucial to Native Tribes’ spirituality, culture, identity, and survival. These forests provide clean drinking water for more than 60 million U.S. residents and are crucial ecosystems for the wildlife that Tribal Nations depend on. The U.S. federal government has legal obligations to Tribes, including engaging in early and meaningful government-to-government consultation before making decisions about ancestral Tribal homelands. If you take this step to rescind the Roadless Rule, you will violate Tribal sovereignty and therefore the U.S. Constitution. In your own draft environmental impact statement, the federal government incorrectly claims that rescinding the Roadless Rule is a solution to the wildfire crisis. But fires don’t start without cause, and the U.S. Forest Service itself has stated that 9 out of 10 wildfires are caused by people. In fact, fires are four times more likely to start near a road due to cigarettes thrown from car windows, abandoned camp fires, and hot under-carriages of cars igniting tall dry grass.Over the years, many Tribes have spoken out against repealing or making exceptions to the Roadless Rule. Many have done so in the past year, so I’m writing to lift up their voices and urge you to fulfill your obligations to them. The Central Council of the Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska wrote: “The Tongass is more than an ecosystem -- it is our home. It is the foundation of our identity, our culture, and our way of life.” They explained that this step took place “without any prior consultation with our Tribe or other Southeast Alaska tribes” and called on the USDA to “suspend this decision until meaningful consultation is held with tribal nations, as required under federal law and trust obligations.”Gloria Burns, the President of the Ketchikan Indian Community in Alaska said: “We the people of Kichxáan are the Tongass. You cannot separate us from the land… This is an attack on Tribes and our people who depend on the land to eat. The federal government must act and provide us the safeguards we need or leave our home roadless… Without our lungs (the Tongass) we cannot breathe life into our future generations.”The President of the Organized Village of Kake in Alaska explained: “The remaining old growth timber is so important for providing shelter, the berries, and our medicines. It provides shade for our streams to keep them cool so our salmon can return year after year. We are the people of the forest and salmon people. Salmon has sustained us for thousands of years.” His Tribe also hunts deer and moose, which are rebounding after past clear-cut logging.And the President of the Organized Village of Kasaan in Alaska wrote: “The Roadless Rule has worked well for our Tribe and our community by helping to protect customary and traditional uses of our lands and waters, and the fish, wildlife, trees and plants. This helps us honor our ancestors and provide for current and future generations. It would be a grave mistake to roll back these protections. The Roadless Rule must continue to be upheld across the Tongass National Forest.”Keep the 2001 Roadless Rule. If you want to make any changes, please meaningfully engage in decision-making with sovereign Tribal Nations, in order to honor your constitutional, trust, and treaty obligations to Tribes.How DARE you, make these changes on your own?Anita Olbek-TookerAnita Olbek-Tookeranitavmot@gmail.com1199 S Glen Meadow LoopLecanto, Florida 34461

Special Areas; Roadless Area Conservation Public Comment,Last year, more than 625,000 people from across the United States wrote to the USDA, urging the agency to keep the bipartisan 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule, which protects our forests from wildfires and corporate exploitation.Rescinding the Roadless Area Conservation Rule would violate tribal sovereignty and subject these areas to environmental destruction. Allowing road construction and logging in these forests will destroy areas crucial to Native Tribes’ spirituality, culture, identity, and survival. These forests provide clean drinking water for more than 60 million U.S. residents and are crucial ecosystems for the wildlife that Tribal Nations depend on. The U.S. federal government has legal obligations to Tribes, including engaging in early and meaningful government-to-government consultation before making decisions about ancestral Tribal homelands. If you take this step to rescind the Roadless Rule, you will violate Tribal sovereignty and therefore the U.S. Constitution. In your own draft environmental impact statement, the federal government incorrectly claims that rescinding the Roadless Rule is a solution to the wildfire crisis. But fires don’t start without cause, and the U.S. Forest Service itself has stated that 9 out of 10 wildfires are caused by people. In fact, fires are four times more likely to start near a road due to cigarettes thrown from car windows, abandoned camp fires, and hot under-carriages of cars igniting tall dry grass.Over the years, many Tribes have spoken out against repealing or making exceptions to the Roadless Rule. Many have done so in the past year, so I’m writing to lift up their voices and urge you to fulfill your obligations to them. The Central Council of the Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska wrote: “The Tongass is more than an ecosystem -- it is our home. It is the foundation of our identity, our culture, and our way of life.” They explained that this step took place “without any prior consultation with our Tribe or other Southeast Alaska tribes” and called on the USDA to “suspend this decision until meaningful consultation is held with tribal nations, as required under federal law and trust obligations.”Gloria Burns, the President of the Ketchikan Indian Community in Alaska said: “We the people of Kichxáan are the Tongass. You cannot separate us from the land… This is an attack on Tribes and our people who depend on the land to eat. The federal government must act and provide us the safeguards we need or leave our home roadless… Without our lungs (the Tongass) we cannot breathe life into our future generations.”The President of the Organized Village of Kake in Alaska explained: “The remaining old growth timber is so important for providing shelter, the berries, and our medicines. It provides shade for our streams to keep them cool so our salmon can return year after year. We are the people of the forest and salmon people. Salmon has sustained us for thousands of years.” His Tribe also hunts deer and moose, which are rebounding after past clear-cut logging.And the President of the Organized Village of Kasaan in Alaska wrote: “The Roadless Rule has worked well for our Tribe and our community by helping to protect customary and traditional uses of our lands and waters, and the fish, wildlife, trees and plants. This helps us honor our ancestors and provide for current and future generations. It would be a grave mistake to roll back these protections. The Roadless Rule must continue to be upheld across the Tongass National Forest.”I add my voice to that of countless others: Keep the 2001 Roadless Rule. If you want to make any changes, I urge you to meaningfully engage in decision-making with sovereign Tribal Nations, in order to honor your constitutional, trust, and treaty obligations to Tribes.Barbara Acostabacostamd@yahoo.com57 River Field Rd. Trenton, Maine 04605

Special Areas; Roadless Area Conservation Public Comment,Last year, more than 625,000 people from across the United States wrote to the USDA, urging the agency to keep the bipartisan 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule, which protects our forests from wildfires and corporate exploitation.Please do not rescind the Roadless Area Conservation Rule, Secretary Rollins. Allowing road construction and logging in these forests will destroy areas crucial to Native Tribes’ spirituality, culture, identity, and survival. These forests provide clean drinking water for more than 60 million U.S. residents and are crucial ecosystems for the wildlife that Tribal Nations depend on. I have worked for the for service while looking for endangered plants and birds and I know that roadless areas are critical for their habitat.The U.S. federal government has legal obligations to Tribes, including engaging in early and meaningful government-to-government consultation before making decisions about ancestral Tribal homelands. If you take this step to rescind the Roadless Rule, you will violate Tribal sovereignty and therefore the U.S. Constitution. In your own draft environmental impact statement, the federal government incorrectly claims that rescinding the Roadless Rule is a solution to the wildfire crisis. But fires don’t start without cause, and the U.S. Forest Service itself has stated that 9 out of 10 wildfires are caused by people. In fact, fires are four times more likely to start near a road due to cigarettes thrown from car windows, abandoned camp fires, and hot under-carriages of cars igniting tall dry grass.Over the years, many Tribes have spoken out against repealing or making exceptions to the Roadless Rule. Many have done so in the past year, so I’m writing to lift up their voices and urge you to fulfill your obligations to them. The Central Council of the Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska wrote: “The Tongass is more than an ecosystem -- it is our home. It is the foundation of our identity, our culture, and our way of life.” They explained that this step took place “without any prior consultation with our Tribe or other Southeast Alaska tribes” and called on the USDA to “suspend this decision until meaningful consultation is held with tribal nations, as required under federal law and trust obligations.”Gloria Burns, the President of the Ketchikan Indian Community in Alaska said: “We the people of Kichxáan are the Tongass. You cannot separate us from the land… This is an attack on Tribes and our people who depend on the land to eat. The federal government must act and provide us the safeguards we need or leave our home roadless… Without our lungs (the Tongass) we cannot breathe life into our future generations.”The President of the Organized Village of Kake in Alaska explained: “The remaining old growth timber is so important for providing shelter, the berries, and our medicines. It provides shade for our streams to keep them cool so our salmon can return year after year. We are the people of the forest and salmon people. Salmon has sustained us for thousands of years.” His Tribe also hunts deer and moose, which are rebounding after past clear-cut logging.And the President of the Organized Village of Kasaan in Alaska wrote: “The Roadless Rule has worked well for our Tribe and our community by helping to protect customary and traditional uses of our lands and waters, and the fish, wildlife, trees and plants. This helps us honor our ancestors and provide for current and future generations. It would be a grave mistake to roll back these protections. The Roadless Rule must continue to be upheld across the Tongass National Forest.”Please keep the 2001 Roadless Rule. If you want to make any changes, please meaningfully engage in decision-making with sovereign Tribal Nations, in order to honor your constitutional, trust, and treaty obligations to Tribes.Shari Exoshari@rexos.net1611 a stForest Grove, Oregon 97116

Special Areas; Roadless Area Conservation Public Comment,Last year, more than 625,000 people from across the United States wrote to the USDA, urging the agency to keep the bipartisan 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule, which protects our forests from wildfires and corporate exploitation.Please do not rescind the Roadless Area Conservation Rule, Secretary Rollins. Allowing road construction and logging in these forests will destroy areas crucial to Native Tribes’ spirituality, culture, identity, and survival. These forests provide clean drinking water for more than 60 million U.S. residents and are crucial ecosystems for the wildlife that Tribal Nations depend on. The U.S. federal government has legal obligations to Tribes, including engaging in early and meaningful government-to-government consultation before making decisions about ancestral Tribal homelands. If you take this step to rescind the Roadless Rule, you will violate Tribal sovereignty and therefore the U.S. Constitution. In your own draft environmental impact statement, the federal government incorrectly claims that rescinding the Roadless Rule is a solution to the wildfire crisis. But fires don’t start without cause, and the U.S. Forest Service itself has stated that 9 out of 10 wildfires are caused by people. In fact, fires are four times more likely to start near a road due to cigarettes thrown from car windows, abandoned camp fires, and hot under-carriages of cars igniting tall dry grass.Over the years, many Tribes have spoken out against repealing or making exceptions to the Roadless Rule. Many have done so in the past year, so I’m writing to lift up their voices and urge you to fulfill your obligations to them. The Central Council of the Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska wrote: “The Tongass is more than an ecosystem -- it is our home. It is the foundation of our identity, our culture, and our way of life.” They explained that this step took place “without any prior consultation with our Tribe or other Southeast Alaska tribes” and called on the USDA to “suspend this decision until meaningful consultation is held with tribal nations, as required under federal law and trust obligations.”Gloria Burns, the President of the Ketchikan Indian Community in Alaska said: “We the people of Kichxáan are the Tongass. You cannot separate us from the land… This is an attack on Tribes and our people who depend on the land to eat. The federal government must act and provide us the safeguards we need or leave our home roadless… Without our lungs (the Tongass) we cannot breathe life into our future generations.”The President of the Organized Village of Kake in Alaska explained: “The remaining old growth timber is so important for providing shelter, the berries, and our medicines. It provides shade for our streams to keep them cool so our salmon can return year after year. We are the people of the forest and salmon people. Salmon has sustained us for thousands of years.” His Tribe also hunts deer and moose, which are rebounding after past clear-cut logging.And the President of the Organized Village of Kasaan in Alaska wrote: “The Roadless Rule has worked well for our Tribe and our community by helping to protect customary and traditional uses of our lands and waters, and the fish, wildlife, trees and plants. This helps us honor our ancestors and provide for current and future generations. It would be a grave mistake to roll back these protections. The Roadless Rule must continue to be upheld across the Tongass National Forest.”Please keep the 2001 Roadless Rule. If you want to make any changes, please meaningfully engage in decision-making with sovereign Tribal Nations, in order to honor your constitutional, trust, and treaty obligations to Tribes.Lisa Simmslisaesimms1@gmail.com12891 Wilderness Trail, Grand Haven, Michigan 49417, United StatesGrand Haven Township, Michigan 49417

Special Areas; Roadless Area Conservation Public Comment,Last year, more than 625,000 people from across the United States wrote to the USDA, urging the agency to keep the bipartisan 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule, which protects our forests from wildfires and corporate exploitation.Please do not rescind the Roadless Area Conservation Rule, Secretary Rollins. Allowing road construction and logging in these forests will destroy areas crucial to Native Tribes’ spirituality, culture, identity, and survival. These forests provide clean drinking water for more than 60 million U.S. residents and are crucial ecosystems for the wildlife that Tribal Nations depend on. The U.S. federal government has legal obligations to Tribes, including engaging in early and meaningful government-to-government consultation before making decisions about ancestral Tribal homelands. If you take this step to rescind the Roadless Rule, you will violate Tribal sovereignty and therefore the U.S. Constitution. In your own draft environmental impact statement, the federal government incorrectly claims that rescinding the Roadless Rule is a solution to the wildfire crisis. But fires don’t start without cause, and the U.S. Forest Service itself has stated that 9 out of 10 wildfires are caused by people. In fact, fires are four times more likely to start near a road due to cigarettes thrown from car windows, abandoned camp fires, and hot under-carriages of cars igniting tall dry grass.Over the years, many Tribes have spoken out against repealing or making exceptions to the Roadless Rule. Many have done so in the past year, so I’m writing to lift up their voices and urge you to fulfill your obligations to them. The Central Council of the Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska wrote: “The Tongass is more than an ecosystem -- it is our home. It is the foundation of our identity, our culture, and our way of life.” They explained that this step took place “without any prior consultation with our Tribe or other Southeast Alaska tribes” and called on the USDA to “suspend this decision until meaningful consultation is held with tribal nations, as required under federal law and trust obligations.”Gloria Burns, the President of the Ketchikan Indian Community in Alaska said: “We the people of Kichxáan are the Tongass. You cannot separate us from the land… This is an attack on Tribes and our people who depend on the land to eat. The federal government must act and provide us the safeguards we need or leave our home roadless… Without our lungs (the Tongass) we cannot breathe life into our future generations.”The President of the Organized Village of Kake in Alaska explained: “The remaining old growth timber is so important for providing shelter, the berries, and our medicines. It provides shade for our streams to keep them cool so our salmon can return year after year. We are the people of the forest and salmon people. Salmon has sustained us for thousands of years.” His Tribe also hunts deer and moose, which are rebounding after past clear-cut logging.And the President of the Organized Village of Kasaan in Alaska wrote: “The Roadless Rule has worked well for our Tribe and our community by helping to protect customary and traditional uses of our lands and waters, and the fish, wildlife, trees and plants. This helps us honor our ancestors and provide for current and future generations. It would be a grave mistake to roll back these protections. The Roadless Rule must continue to be upheld across the Tongass National Forest.”Please keep the 2001 Roadless Rule. If you want to make any changes, please meaningfully engage in decision-making with sovereign Tribal Nations, in order to honor your constitutional, trust, and treaty obligations to Tribes.RESPECT INDIGENOUS PEOPLE!RELEASE THE EPSTEIN FILES AND IMPEACH, PROSECUTE AND CONDEMN THE PERPETRATORS!Andrea Palmieriapalmieri8@gmail.com2414 Abbeywood CtClarksville, Indiana 47129-1278

Special Areas; Roadless Area Conservation Public Comment,Last year, more than 625,000 people from across the United States wrote to the USDA, urging the agency to keep the bipartisan 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule, which protects our forests from wildfires and corporate exploitation.Please do not rescind the Roadless Area Conservation Rule, Secretary Rollins. Allowing road construction and logging in these forests will destroy areas crucial to Native Tribes’ spirituality, culture, identity, and survival. These forests provide clean drinking water for more than 60 million U.S. residents and are crucial ecosystems for the wildlife that Tribal Nations depend on. The U.S. federal government has legal obligations to Tribes, including engaging in early and meaningful government-to-government consultation before making decisions about ancestral Tribal homelands. If you take this step to rescind the Roadless Rule, you will violate Tribal sovereignty and therefore the U.S. Constitution. In your own draft environmental impact statement, the federal government incorrectly claims that rescinding the Roadless Rule is a solution to the wildfire crisis. But fires don’t start without cause, and the U.S. Forest Service itself has stated that 9 out of 10 wildfires are caused by people. In fact, fires are four times more likely to start near a road due to cigarettes thrown from car windows, abandoned camp fires, and hot under-carriages of cars igniting tall dry grass.Over the years, many Tribes have spoken out against repealing or making exceptions to the Roadless Rule. Many have done so in the past year, so I’m writing to lift up their voices and urge you to fulfill your obligations to them. The Central Council of the Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska wrote: “The Tongass is more than an ecosystem -- it is our home. It is the foundation of our identity, our culture, and our way of life.” They explained that this step took place “without any prior consultation with our Tribe or other Southeast Alaska tribes” and called on the USDA to “suspend this decision until meaningful consultation is held with tribal nations, as required under federal law and trust obligations.”Gloria Burns, the President of the Ketchikan Indian Community in Alaska said: “We the people of Kichxáan are the Tongass. You cannot separate us from the land… This is an attack on Tribes and our people who depend on the land to eat. The federal government must act and provide us the safeguards we need or leave our home roadless… Without our lungs (the Tongass) we cannot breathe life into our future generations.”The President of the Organized Village of Kake in Alaska explained: “The remaining old growth timber is so important for providing shelter, the berries, and our medicines. It provides shade for our streams to keep them cool so our salmon can return year after year. We are the people of the forest and salmon people. Salmon has sustained us for thousands of years.” His Tribe also hunts deer and moose, which are rebounding after past clear-cut logging.And the President of the Organized Village of Kasaan in Alaska wrote: “The Roadless Rule has worked well for our Tribe and our community by helping to protect customary and traditional uses of our lands and waters, and the fish, wildlife, trees and plants. This helps us honor our ancestors and provide for current and future generations. It would be a grave mistake to roll back these protections. The Roadless Rule must continue to be upheld across the Tongass National Forest.”Please keep the 2001 Roadless Rule. If you want to make any changes, please meaningfully engage in decision-making with sovereign Tribal Nations, in order to honor your constitutional, trust, and treaty obligations to Tribes.IT’S WAY PAST TIME WE QUIT IGNORING TREATIES AND AGREEMENTS WITH THE FIRST PEOPLE!Gene Tunnellgenetunnell43@icloud.com712 Ave A Rome , Georgia 30165

Special Areas; Roadless Area Conservation Public Comment,Last year, more than 625,000 people from across the United States wrote to OUR USDA expecting the agency entrusted with our forests, lands, ecosystems to keep the bipartisan 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule protecting OUR forests from wildfires and corporate exploitation.We must never rescind the Roadless Area Conservation Rule, Secretary Rollins. Allowing road construction and logging in these forests destroyas areas crucial to Native Tribes’ spirituality, culture, identity, and survival. These forests provide clean drinking water for more than 60 million U.S. residents and are crucial ecosystems for the wildlife that Tribal Nations depend on. The U.S. federal government has legal obligations to Tribes, including engaging in early and meaningful government-to-government consultation before making decisions about ancestral Tribal homelands. If you take this step to rescind the Roadless Rule, you will violate Tribal sovereignty and therefore the U.S. Constitution. In your own draft environmental impact statement, the federal government incorrectly claims that rescinding the Roadless Rule is a solution to the wildfire crisis. But fires don’t start without cause, and the U.S. Forest Service itself has stated that 9 out of 10 wildfires are caused by people. In fact, fires are four times more likely to start near a road due to cigarettes thrown from car windows, abandoned camp fires, and hot under-carriages of cars igniting tall dry grass.Over the years, many Tribes have spoken out against repealing or making exceptions to the Roadless Rule. Many have done so in the past year, so I’m writing to lift up their voices and urge you to fulfill your obligations to them. The Central Council of the Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska wrote: “The Tongass is more than an ecosystem -- it is our home. It is the foundation of our identity, our culture, and our way of life.” They explained that this step took place “without any prior consultation with our Tribe or other Southeast Alaska tribes” and called on the USDA to “suspend this decision until meaningful consultation is held with tribal nations, as required under federal law and trust obligations.”Gloria Burns, the President of the Ketchikan Indian Community in Alaska said: “We the people of Kichxáan are the Tongass. You cannot separate us from the land… This is an attack on Tribes and our people who depend on the land to eat. The federal government must act and provide us the safeguards we need or leave our home roadless… Without our lungs (the Tongass) we cannot breathe life into our future generations.”The President of the Organized Village of Kake in Alaska explained: “The remaining old growth timber is so important for providing shelter, the berries, and our medicines. It provides shade for our streams to keep them cool so our salmon can return year after year. We are the people of the forest and salmon people. Salmon has sustained us for thousands of years.” His Tribe also hunts deer and moose, which are rebounding after past clear-cut logging.And the President of the Organized Village of Kasaan in Alaska wrote: “The Roadless Rule has worked well for our Tribe and our community by helping to protect customary and traditional uses of our lands and waters, and the fish, wildlife, trees and plants. This helps us honor our ancestors and provide for current and future generations. It would be a grave mistake to roll back these protections. The Roadless Rule must continue to be upheld across the Tongass National Forest.”Please keep the 2001 Roadless Rule. If you want to make any changes, please meaningfully engage in decision-making with sovereign Tribal Nations, in order to honor your constitutional, trust, and treaty obligations to Tribes.Janet FioreJanetFiore@aol.com1857 9th Ave.San Francisco, California 94122

Special Areas; Roadless Area Conservation Public Comment,Last year, more than 625,000 people from across the United States wrote to the USDA, urging the agency to keep the bipartisan 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule, which protects our forests from wildfires and corporate exploitation.Please do not rescind the Roadless Area Conservation Rule, Secretary Rollins. Allowing road construction and logging in these forests will destroy areas crucial to Native Tribes’ spirituality, culture, identity, and survival. These forests provide clean drinking water for more than 60 million U.S. residents and are crucial ecosystems for the wildlife that Tribal Nations depend on. The U.S. federal government has legal obligations to Tribes, including engaging in early and meaningful government-to-government consultation before making decisions about ancestral Tribal homelands. If you take this step to rescind the Roadless Rule, you will violate Tribal sovereignty and therefore the U.S. Constitution. In your own draft environmental impact statement, the federal government incorrectly claims that rescinding the Roadless Rule is a solution to the wildfire crisis. However, fires don’t start without cause, and the U.S. Forest Service itself has stated that 9 out of 10 wildfires are caused by people. In fact, fires are four times more likely to start near a road due to cigarettes thrown from car windows, abandoned camp fires, and hot under-carriages of cars igniting tall dry grass.Over the years, many Tribes have spoken out against repealing or making exceptions to the Roadless Rule. Many have done so in the past year, so I’m writing to lift up their voices and urge you to fulfill your obligations to them. The Central Council of the Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska wrote: “The Tongass is more than an ecosystem -- it is our home. It is the foundation of our identity, our culture, and our way of life.” They explained that this step took place “without any prior consultation with our Tribe or other Southeast Alaska tribes” and called on the USDA to “suspend this decision until meaningful consultation is held with tribal nations, as required under federal law and trust obligations.”Gloria Burns, the President of the Ketchikan Indian Community in Alaska said: “We the people of Kichxáan are the Tongass. You cannot separate us from the land… This is an attack on Tribes and our people who depend on the land to eat. The federal government must act and provide us the safeguards we need or leave our home roadless… Without our lungs (the Tongass) we cannot breathe life into our future generations.”The President of the Organized Village of Kake in Alaska explained: “The remaining old growth timber is so important for providing shelter, the berries, and our medicines. It provides shade for our streams to keep them cool so our salmon can return year after year. We are the people of the forest and salmon people. Salmon has sustained us for thousands of years.” His Tribe also hunts deer and moose, which are rebounding after past clear-cut logging.The President of the Organized Village of Kasaan in Alaska wrote: “The Roadless Rule has worked well for our Tribe and our community by helping to protect customary and traditional uses of our lands and waters, and the fish, wildlife, trees and plants. This helps us honor our ancestors and provide for current and future generations. It would be a grave mistake to roll back these protections. The Roadless Rule must continue to be upheld across the Tongass National Forest.”I ask you to please keep the 2001 Roadless Rule. If you want to make any changes, please meaningfully engage in decision-making with sovereign Tribal Nations, in order to honor your constitutional, trust, and treaty obligations to Tribes.Thank you.Lara Wright, MDlara.wright@sonic.net1165 Santa Fe AvenueAlbany, California 94706-2343

Special Areas; Roadless Area Conservation Public Comment,Last year, more than 625,000 people from across the United States wrote to the USDA, urging the agency to keep the bipartisan 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule, which protects our forests from wildfires and corporate exploitation.Please do not rescind the Roadless Area Conservation Rule, Secretary Rollins. Allowing road construction and logging in these forests will destroy areas crucial to Native Tribes’ spirituality, culture, identity, and survival. These forests provide clean drinking water for more than 60 million U.S. residents and are crucial ecosystems for the wildlife that Tribal Nations depend on. The U.S. federal government has legal obligations to Tribes, including engaging in early and meaningful government-to-government consultation before making decisions about ancestral Tribal homelands. If you take this step to rescind the Roadless Rule, you will violate Tribal sovereignty and therefore the U.S. Constitution. In your own draft environmental impact statement, the federal government incorrectly claims that rescinding the Roadless Rule is a solution to the wildfire crisis. But fires don’t start without cause, and the U.S. Forest Service itself has stated that 9 out of 10 wildfires are caused by people. In fact, fires are four times more likely to start near a road due to cigarettes thrown from car windows, abandoned camp fires, and hot under-carriages of cars igniting tall dry grass.Over the years, many Tribes have spoken out against repealing or making exceptions to the Roadless Rule. Many have done so in the past year, so I’m writing to lift up their voices and urge you to fulfill your obligations to them. The Central Council of the Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska wrote: “The Tongass is more than an ecosystem -- it is our home. It is the foundation of our identity, our culture, and our way of life.” They explained that this step took place “without any prior consultation with our Tribe or other Southeast Alaska tribes” and called on the USDA to “suspend this decision until meaningful consultation is held with tribal nations, as required under federal law and trust obligations.”Gloria Burns, the President of the Ketchikan Indian Community in Alaska said: “We the people of Kichxáan are the Tongass. You cannot separate us from the land… This is an attack on Tribes and our people who depend on the land to eat. The federal government must act and provide us the safeguards we need or leave our home roadless… Without our lungs (the Tongass) we cannot breathe life into our future generations.”The President of the Organized Village of Kake in Alaska explained: “The remaining old growth timber is so important for providing shelter, the berries, and our medicines. It provides shade for our streams to keep them cool so our salmon can return year after year. We are the people of the forest and salmon people. Salmon has sustained us for thousands of years.” His Tribe also hunts deer and moose, which are rebounding after past clear-cut logging.And the President of the Organized Village of Kasaan in Alaska wrote: “The Roadless Rule has worked well for our Tribe and our community by helping to protect customary and traditional uses of our lands and waters, and the fish, wildlife, trees and plants. This helps us honor our ancestors and provide for current and future generations. It would be a grave mistake to roll back these protections. The Roadless Rule must continue to be upheld across the Tongass National Forest.”Please keep the 2001 Roadless Rule. If you want to make any changes, please meaningfully engage in decision-making with sovereign Tribal Nations, in order to honor your constitutional, trust, and treaty obligations to Tribes.Esther Garvett57_botanic.profit@icloud.com1861 NW South River Drive, Apartment 2409Miami, Florida 33125-2768

Special Areas; Roadless Area Conservation Public Comment,Last year, more than 625,000 people from across the United States wrote to the USDA, urging the agency to keep the bipartisan 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule, which protects our forests from wildfires and corporate exploitation.Please do not rescind the Roadless Area Conservation Rule, Secretary Rollins. Allowing road construction and logging in these forests will destroy areas crucial to Native Tribes’ spirituality, culture, identity, and survival. These forests provide clean drinking water for more than 60 million U.S. residents and are crucial ecosystems for the wildlife that Tribal Nations depend on. The U.S. federal government has legal obligations to Tribes, including engaging in early and meaningful government-to-government consultation before making decisions about ancestral Tribal homelands. If you take this step to rescind the Roadless Rule, you will violate Tribal sovereignty and therefore the U.S. Constitution. In your own draft environmental impact statement, the federal government incorrectly claims that rescinding the Roadless Rule is a solution to the wildfire crisis. But fires don’t start without cause, and the U.S. Forest Service itself has stated that 9 out of 10 wildfires are caused by people. In fact, fires are four times more likely to start near a road due to cigarettes thrown from car windows, abandoned camp fires, and hot under-carriages of cars igniting tall dry grass.Over the years, many Tribes have spoken out against repealing or making exceptions to the Roadless Rule. Many have done so in the past year, so I’m writing to lift up their voices and urge you to fulfill your obligations to them. The Central Council of the Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska wrote: “The Tongass is more than an ecosystem -- it is our home. It is the foundation of our identity, our culture, and our way of life.” They explained that this step took place “without any prior consultation with our Tribe or other Southeast Alaska tribes” and called on the USDA to “suspend this decision until meaningful consultation is held with tribal nations, as required under federal law and trust obligations.”Gloria Burns, the President of the Ketchikan Indian Community in Alaska said: “We the people of Kichxáan are the Tongass. You cannot separate us from the land… This is an attack on Tribes and our people who depend on the land to eat. The federal government must act and provide us the safeguards we need or leave our home roadless… Without our lungs (the Tongass) we cannot breathe life into our future generations.”The President of the Organized Village of Kake in Alaska explained: “The remaining old growth timber is so important for providing shelter, the berries, and our medicines. It provides shade for our streams to keep them cool so our salmon can return year after year. We are the people of the forest and salmon people. Salmon has sustained us for thousands of years.” His Tribe also hunts deer and moose, which are rebounding after past clear-cut logging.And the President of the Organized Village of Kasaan in Alaska wrote: “The Roadless Rule has worked well for our Tribe and our community by helping to protect customary and traditional uses of our lands and waters, and the fish, wildlife, trees and plants. This helps us honor our ancestors and provide for current and future generations. It would be a grave mistake to roll back these protections. The Roadless Rule must continue to be upheld across the Tongass National Forest.”Please keep the 2001 Roadless Rule. If you want to make any changes, please meaningfully engage in decision-making with sovereign Tribal Nations, in order to honor your constitutional, trust, and treaty obligations to Tribes.Esther Garvett57_botanic.profit@icloud.com1861 NW South River Drive, Apartment 2409Miami, Florida 33125-2768

Special Areas; Roadless Area Conservation Public Comment,Last year, more than 625,000 people from across the United States wrote to the USDA, urging the agency to keep the bipartisan 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule, which protects our forests from wildfires and corporate exploitation.Please do not rescind the Roadless Area Conservation Rule, Secretary Rollins. Allowing road construction and logging in these forests will destroy areas crucial to Native Tribes’ spirituality, culture, identity, and survival. These forests provide clean drinking water for more than 60 million U.S. residents and are crucial ecosystems for the wildlife that Tribal Nations depend on. The U.S. federal government has legal obligations to Tribes, including engaging in early and meaningful government-to-government consultation before making decisions about ancestral Tribal homelands. If you take this step to rescind the Roadless Rule, you will violate Tribal sovereignty and therefore the U.S. Constitution. In your own draft environmental impact statement, the federal government incorrectly claims that rescinding the Roadless Rule is a solution to the wildfire crisis. But fires don’t start without cause, and the U.S. Forest Service itself has stated that 9 out of 10 wildfires are caused by people. In fact, fires are four times more likely to start near a road due to cigarettes thrown from car windows, abandoned camp fires, and hot under-carriages of cars igniting tall dry grass.Over the years, many Tribes have spoken out against repealing or making exceptions to the Roadless Rule. Many have done so in the past year, so I’m writing to lift up their voices and urge you to fulfill your obligations to them. The Central Council of the Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska wrote: “The Tongass is more than an ecosystem -- it is our home. It is the foundation of our identity, our culture, and our way of life.” They explained that this step took place “without any prior consultation with our Tribe or other Southeast Alaska tribes” and called on the USDA to “suspend this decision until meaningful consultation is held with tribal nations, as required under federal law and trust obligations.”Gloria Burns, the President of the Ketchikan Indian Community in Alaska said: “We the people of Kichxáan are the Tongass. You cannot separate us from the land… This is an attack on Tribes and our people who depend on the land to eat. The federal government must act and provide us the safeguards we need or leave our home roadless… Without our lungs (the Tongass) we cannot breathe life into our future generations.”The President of the Organized Village of Kake in Alaska explained: “The remaining old growth timber is so important for providing shelter, the berries, and our medicines. It provides shade for our streams to keep them cool so our salmon can return year after year. We are the people of the forest and salmon people. Salmon has sustained us for thousands of years.” His Tribe also hunts deer and moose, which are rebounding after past clear-cut logging.And the President of the Organized Village of Kasaan in Alaska wrote: “The Roadless Rule has worked well for our Tribe and our community by helping to protect customary and traditional uses of our lands and waters, and the fish, wildlife, trees and plants. This helps us honor our ancestors and provide for current and future generations. It would be a grave mistake to roll back these protections. The Roadless Rule must continue to be upheld across the Tongass National Forest.”Please keep the 2001 Roadless Rule. If you want to make any changes, please meaningfully engage in decision-making with sovereign Tribal Nations, in order to honor your constitutional, trust, and treaty obligations to Tribes.Esther Garvett57_botanic.profit@icloud.com1861 NW South River Drive, Apartment 2409Miami, Florida 33125-2768

Special Areas; Roadless Area Conservation Public Comment,Last year, more than 625,000 people from across the United States wrote to the USDA, urging the agency to keep the bipartisan 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule, which protects our forests from wildfires and corporate exploitation.Please do not rescind the Roadless Area Conservation Rule, Secretary Rollins. Allowing road construction and logging in these forests will destroy areas crucial to Native Tribes’ spirituality, culture, identity, and survival. These forests provide clean drinking water for more than 60 million U.S. residents and are crucial ecosystems for the wildlife that Tribal Nations depend on. The U.S. federal government has legal obligations to Tribes, including engaging in early and meaningful government-to-government consultation before making decisions about ancestral Tribal homelands. If you take this step to rescind the Roadless Rule, you will violate Tribal sovereignty and therefore the U.S. Constitution. In your own draft environmental impact statement, the federal government incorrectly claims that rescinding the Roadless Rule is a solution to the wildfire crisis. But fires don’t start without cause, and the U.S. Forest Service itself has stated that 9 out of 10 wildfires are caused by people. In fact, fires are four times more likely to start near a road due to cigarettes thrown from car windows, abandoned camp fires, and hot under-carriages of cars igniting tall dry grass.Over the years, many Tribes have spoken out against repealing or making exceptions to the Roadless Rule. Many have done so in the past year, so I’m writing to lift up their voices and urge you to fulfill your obligations to them. The Central Council of the Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska wrote: “The Tongass is more than an ecosystem -- it is our home. It is the foundation of our identity, our culture, and our way of life.” They explained that this step took place “without any prior consultation with our Tribe or other Southeast Alaska tribes” and called on the USDA to “suspend this decision until meaningful consultation is held with tribal nations, as required under federal law and trust obligations.”Gloria Burns, the President of the Ketchikan Indian Community in Alaska said: “We the people of Kichxáan are the Tongass. You cannot separate us from the land… This is an attack on Tribes and our people who depend on the land to eat. The federal government must act and provide us the safeguards we need or leave our home roadless… Without our lungs (the Tongass) we cannot breathe life into our future generations.”The President of the Organized Village of Kake in Alaska explained: “The remaining old growth timber is so important for providing shelter, the berries, and our medicines. It provides shade for our streams to keep them cool so our salmon can return year after year. We are the people of the forest and salmon people. Salmon has sustained us for thousands of years.” His Tribe also hunts deer and moose, which are rebounding after past clear-cut logging.And the President of the Organized Village of Kasaan in Alaska wrote: “The Roadless Rule has worked well for our Tribe and our community by helping to protect customary and traditional uses of our lands and waters, and the fish, wildlife, trees and plants. This helps us honor our ancestors and provide for current and future generations. It would be a grave mistake to roll back these protections. The Roadless Rule must continue to be upheld across the Tongass National Forest.”Please keep the 2001 Roadless Rule. If you want to make any changes, please meaningfully engage in decision-making with sovereign Tribal Nations, in order to honor your constitutional, trust, and treaty obligations to Tribes.Esther Garvett57_botanic.profit@icloud.com1861 NW South River Drive, Apartment 2409Miami, Florida 33125-2768

Special Areas; Roadless Area Conservation Public Comment,Last year, more than 625,000 people from across the United States wrote to the USDA, urging the agency to keep the bipartisan 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule, which protects our forests from wildfires and corporate exploitation.Please do not rescind the Roadless Area Conservation Rule, Secretary Rollins. Allowing road construction and logging in these forests will destroy areas crucial to Native Tribes’ spirituality, culture, identity, and survival. These forests provide clean drinking water for more than 60 million U.S. residents and are crucial ecosystems for the wildlife that Tribal Nations depend on. The U.S. federal government has legal obligations to Tribes, including engaging in early and meaningful government-to-government consultation before making decisions about ancestral Tribal homelands. If you take this step to rescind the Roadless Rule, you will violate Tribal sovereignty and therefore the U.S. Constitution. In your own draft environmental impact statement, the federal government incorrectly claims that rescinding the Roadless Rule is a solution to the wildfire crisis. But fires don’t start without cause, and the U.S. Forest Service itself has stated that 9 out of 10 wildfires are caused by people. In fact, fires are four times more likely to start near a road due to cigarettes thrown from car windows, abandoned camp fires, and hot under-carriages of cars igniting tall dry grass.Over the years, many Tribes have spoken out against repealing or making exceptions to the Roadless Rule. Many have done so in the past year, so I’m writing to lift up their voices and urge you to fulfill your obligations to them. The Central Council of the Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska wrote: “The Tongass is more than an ecosystem -- it is our home. It is the foundation of our identity, our culture, and our way of life.” They explained that this step took place “without any prior consultation with our Tribe or other Southeast Alaska tribes” and called on the USDA to “suspend this decision until meaningful consultation is held with tribal nations, as required under federal law and trust obligations.”Gloria Burns, the President of the Ketchikan Indian Community in Alaska said: “We the people of Kichxáan are the Tongass. You cannot separate us from the land… This is an attack on Tribes and our people who depend on the land to eat. The federal government must act and provide us the safeguards we need or leave our home roadless… Without our lungs (the Tongass) we cannot breathe life into our future generations.”The President of the Organized Village of Kake in Alaska explained: “The remaining old growth timber is so important for providing shelter, the berries, and our medicines. It provides shade for our streams to keep them cool so our salmon can return year after year. We are the people of the forest and salmon people. Salmon has sustained us for thousands of years.” His Tribe also hunts deer and moose, which are rebounding after past clear-cut logging.And the President of the Organized Village of Kasaan in Alaska wrote: “The Roadless Rule has worked well for our Tribe and our community by helping to protect customary and traditional uses of our lands and waters, and the fish, wildlife, trees and plants. This helps us honor our ancestors and provide for current and future generations. It would be a grave mistake to roll back these protections. The Roadless Rule must continue to be upheld across the Tongass National Forest.”Please keep the 2001 Roadless Rule. If you want to make any changes, please meaningfully engage in decision-making with sovereign Tribal Nations, in order to honor your constitutional, trust, and treaty obligations to Tribes.SEREMIKA ASSASseremika.assas@gmail.com6 RESIDENCE DES JONQUILLES, RUE HENRI DUNANTVILLEBON SUR YVETTE, Île-de-France 91140

Special Areas; Roadless Area Conservation Public Comment,Last year, more than 625,000 people from across the United States wrote to the USDA, urging the agency to keep the bipartisan 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule, which protects our forests from wildfires and corporate exploitation.Please do not rescind the Roadless Area Conservation Rule, Secretary Rollins. Allowing road construction and logging in these forests will destroy areas crucial to Native Tribes’ spirituality, culture, identity, and survival. These forests provide clean drinking water for more than 60 million U.S. residents and are crucial ecosystems for the wildlife that Tribal Nations depend on. The U.S. federal government has legal obligations to Tribes, including engaging in early and meaningful government-to-government consultation before making decisions about ancestral Tribal homelands. If you take this step to rescind the Roadless Rule, you will violate Tribal sovereignty and therefore the U.S. Constitution. In your own draft environmental impact statement, the federal government incorrectly claims that rescinding the Roadless Rule is a solution to the wildfire crisis. But fires don’t start without cause, and the U.S. Forest Service itself has stated that 9 out of 10 wildfires are caused by people. In fact, fires are four times more likely to start near a road due to cigarettes thrown from car windows, abandoned camp fires, and hot under-carriages of cars igniting tall dry grass.Over the years, many Tribes have spoken out against repealing or making exceptions to the Roadless Rule. Many have done so in the past year, so I’m writing to lift up their voices and urge you to fulfill your obligations to them. The Central Council of the Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska wrote: “The Tongass is more than an ecosystem -- it is our home. It is the foundation of our identity, our culture, and our way of life.” They explained that this step took place “without any prior consultation with our Tribe or other Southeast Alaska tribes” and called on the USDA to “suspend this decision until meaningful consultation is held with tribal nations, as required under federal law and trust obligations.”Gloria Burns, the President of the Ketchikan Indian Community in Alaska said: “We the people of Kichxáan are the Tongass. You cannot separate us from the land… This is an attack on Tribes and our people who depend on the land to eat. The federal government must act and provide us the safeguards we need or leave our home roadless… Without our lungs (the Tongass) we cannot breathe life into our future generations.”The President of the Organized Village of Kake in Alaska explained: “The remaining old growth timber is so important for providing shelter, the berries, and our medicines. It provides shade for our streams to keep them cool so our salmon can return year after year. We are the people of the forest and salmon people. Salmon has sustained us for thousands of years.” His Tribe also hunts deer and moose, which are rebounding after past clear-cut logging.And the President of the Organized Village of Kasaan in Alaska wrote: “The Roadless Rule has worked well for our Tribe and our community by helping to protect customary and traditional uses of our lands and waters, and the fish, wildlife, trees and plants. This helps us honor our ancestors and provide for current and future generations. It would be a grave mistake to roll back these protections. The Roadless Rule must continue to be upheld across the Tongass National Forest.”Please keep the 2001 Roadless Rule. If you want to make any changes, please meaningfully engage in decision-making with sovereign Tribal Nations, in order to honor your constitutional, trust, and treaty obligations to Tribes.María Jesús Urkijo Garayo9callegorbea@gmail.comGorbea Street. Number 9. First Right Floor.Vitoria, Pais Vasco 01012

Special Areas; Roadless Area Conservation Public Comment,Last year, more than 625,000 people from across the United States wrote to the USDA, urging the agency to keep the bipartisan 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule, which protects our forests from wildfires and corporate exploitation.Please do not rescind the Roadless Area Conservation Rule, Secretary Rollins. Allowing road construction and logging in these forests will destroy areas crucial to Native Tribes’ spirituality, culture, identity, and survival. These forests provide clean drinking water for more than 60 million U.S. residents and are crucial ecosystems for the wildlife that Tribal Nations depend on. The U.S. federal government has legal obligations to Tribes, including engaging in early and meaningful government-to-government consultation before making decisions about ancestral Tribal homelands. If you take this step to rescind the Roadless Rule, you will violate Tribal sovereignty and therefore the U.S. Constitution. In your own draft environmental impact statement, the federal government incorrectly claims that rescinding the Roadless Rule is a solution to the wildfire crisis. But fires don’t start without cause, and the U.S. Forest Service itself has stated that 9 out of 10 wildfires are caused by people. In fact, fires are four times more likely to start near a road due to cigarettes thrown from car windows, abandoned camp fires, and hot under-carriages of cars igniting tall dry grass.Over the years, many Tribes have spoken out against repealing or making exceptions to the Roadless Rule. Many have done so in the past year, so I’m writing to lift up their voices and urge you to fulfill your obligations to them. The Central Council of the Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska wrote: “The Tongass is more than an ecosystem -- it is our home. It is the foundation of our identity, our culture, and our way of life.” They explained that this step took place “without any prior consultation with our Tribe or other Southeast Alaska tribes” and called on the USDA to “suspend this decision until meaningful consultation is held with tribal nations, as required under federal law and trust obligations.”Gloria Burns, the President of the Ketchikan Indian Community in Alaska said: “We the people of Kichxáan are the Tongass. You cannot separate us from the land… This is an attack on Tribes and our people who depend on the land to eat. The federal government must act and provide us the safeguards we need or leave our home roadless… Without our lungs (the Tongass) we cannot breathe life into our future generations.”The President of the Organized Village of Kake in Alaska explained: “The remaining old growth timber is so important for providing shelter, the berries, and our medicines. It provides shade for our streams to keep them cool so our salmon can return year after year. We are the people of the forest and salmon people. Salmon has sustained us for thousands of years.” His Tribe also hunts deer and moose, which are rebounding after past clear-cut logging.And the President of the Organized Village of Kasaan in Alaska wrote: “The Roadless Rule has worked well for our Tribe and our community by helping to protect customary and traditional uses of our lands and waters, and the fish, wildlife, trees and plants. This helps us honor our ancestors and provide for current and future generations. It would be a grave mistake to roll back these protections. The Roadless Rule must continue to be upheld across the Tongass National Forest.”Please keep the 2001 Roadless Rule. If you want to make any changes, please meaningfully engage in decision-making with sovereign Tribal Nations, in order to honor your constitutional, trust, and treaty obligations to Tribes.-Regards, Phil MacLellan Phil MacLellanphillogs65@yahoo.com8898 74th St. NWPowers Lake, North Dakota 58773-9059

Special Areas; Roadless Area Conservation Public Comment,Please keep the 2001 Roadless Rule. Last year, more than 625,000 people from across the United States wrote to the USDA, urging the agency to keep the bipartisan 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule, which protects our forests from wildfires and corporate exploitation.Please do not rescind the Roadless Area Conservation Rule, Secretary Rollins. Allowing road construction and logging in these forests will destroy areas crucial to Native Tribes’ spirituality, culture, identity, and survival. These forests provide clean drinking water for more than 60 million U.S. residents and are crucial ecosystems for the wildlife that Tribal Nations depend on. The U.S. federal government has legal obligations to Tribes, including engaging in early and meaningful government-to-government consultation before making decisions about ancestral Tribal homelands. If you take this step to rescind the Roadless Rule, you will violate Tribal sovereignty and therefore the U.S. Constitution. In your own draft environmental impact statement, the federal government incorrectly claims that rescinding the Roadless Rule is a solution to the wildfire crisis. But fires don’t start without cause, and the U.S. Forest Service itself has stated that 9 out of 10 wildfires are caused by people. In fact, fires are four times more likely to start near a road due to cigarettes thrown from car windows, abandoned camp fires, and hot under-carriages of cars igniting tall dry grass.Over the years, many Tribes have spoken out against repealing or making exceptions to the Roadless Rule. Many have done so in the past year, so I’m writing to lift up their voices and urge you to fulfill your obligations to them. The Central Council of the Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska wrote: “The Tongass is more than an ecosystem -- it is our home. It is the foundation of our identity, our culture, and our way of life.” They explained that this step took place “without any prior consultation with our Tribe or other Southeast Alaska tribes” and called on the USDA to “suspend this decision until meaningful consultation is held with tribal nations, as required under federal law and trust obligations.”Gloria Burns, the President of the Ketchikan Indian Community in Alaska said: “We the people of Kichxáan are the Tongass. You cannot separate us from the land… This is an attack on Tribes and our people who depend on the land to eat. The federal government must act and provide us the safeguards we need or leave our home roadless… Without our lungs (the Tongass) we cannot breathe life into our future generations.”The President of the Organized Village of Kake in Alaska explained: “The remaining old growth timber is so important for providing shelter, the berries, and our medicines. It provides shade for our streams to keep them cool so our salmon can return year after year. We are the people of the forest and salmon people. Salmon has sustained us for thousands of years.” His Tribe also hunts deer and moose, which are rebounding after past clear-cut logging.And the President of the Organized Village of Kasaan in Alaska wrote: “The Roadless Rule has worked well for our Tribe and our community by helping to protect customary and traditional uses of our lands and waters, and the fish, wildlife, trees and plants. This helps us honor our ancestors and provide for current and future generations. It would be a grave mistake to roll back these protections. The Roadless Rule must continue to be upheld across the Tongass National Forest.”Please keep the 2001 Roadless Rule. If you want to make any changes, please meaningfully engage in decision-making with sovereign Tribal Nations, in order to honor your constitutional, trust, and treaty obligations to Tribes.Suzanne Hendersonhendersonsk@proton.me14984 Potomac River Dr 381Cobb Island, Maryland 20625

Special Areas; Roadless Area Conservation Public Comment,Last year, more than 625,000 people from across the United States wrote to the USDA, urging the agency to keep the bipartisan 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule, which protects our forests from wildfires and corporate exploitation.Please do not rescind the Roadless Area Conservation Rule, Secretary Rollins. Allowing road construction and logging in these forests will destroy areas crucial to Native Tribes’ spirituality, culture, identity, and survival. These forests provide clean drinking water for more than 60 million U.S. residents and are crucial ecosystems for the wildlife that Tribal Nations depend on. The U.S. federal government has legal obligations to Tribes, including engaging in early and meaningful government-to-government consultation before making decisions about ancestral Tribal homelands. If you take this step to rescind the Roadless Rule, you will violate Tribal sovereignty and therefore the U.S. Constitution. In your own draft environmental impact statement, the federal government incorrectly claims that rescinding the Roadless Rule is a solution to the wildfire crisis. But fires don’t start without cause, and the U.S. Forest Service itself has stated that 9 out of 10 wildfires are caused by people. In fact, fires are four times more likely to start near a road due to cigarettes thrown from car windows, abandoned camp fires, and hot under-carriages of cars igniting tall dry grass.Over the years, many Tribes have spoken out against repealing or making exceptions to the Roadless Rule. Many have done so in the past year, so I’m writing to lift up their voices and urge you to fulfill your obligations to them. The Central Council of the Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska wrote: “The Tongass is more than an ecosystem -- it is our home. It is the foundation of our identity, our culture, and our way of life.” They explained that this step took place “without any prior consultation with our Tribe or other Southeast Alaska tribes” and called on the USDA to “suspend this decision until meaningful consultation is held with tribal nations, as required under federal law and trust obligations.”Gloria Burns, the President of the Ketchikan Indian Community in Alaska said: “We the people of Kichxáan are the Tongass. You cannot separate us from the land… This is an attack on Tribes and our people who depend on the land to eat. The federal government must act and provide us the safeguards we need or leave our home roadless… Without our lungs (the Tongass) we cannot breathe life into our future generations.”The President of the Organized Village of Kake in Alaska explained: “The remaining old growth timber is so important for providing shelter, the berries, and our medicines. It provides shade for our streams to keep them cool so our salmon can return year after year. We are the people of the forest and salmon people. Salmon has sustained us for thousands of years.” His Tribe also hunts deer and moose, which are rebounding after past clear-cut logging.And the President of the Organized Village of Kasaan in Alaska wrote: “The Roadless Rule has worked well for our Tribe and our community by helping to protect customary and traditional uses of our lands and waters, and the fish, wildlife, trees and plants. This helps us honor our ancestors and provide for current and future generations. It would be a grave mistake to roll back these protections. The Roadless Rule must continue to be upheld across the Tongass National Forest.”Please keep the 2001 Roadless Rule. If you want to make any changes, please meaningfully engage in decision-making with sovereign Tribal Nations, in order to honor your constitutional, trust, and treaty obligations to Tribes.CARLA VALLETcarlavallet888@gmail.comAvenida de Villajoyosa 97; piso 14 - bloque 22Alicante (Ciudad), Comunidad Valenciana 03016

Special Areas; Roadless Area Conservation Public Comment,Last year, more than 625,000 people from across the United States wrote to the USDA, urging the agency to keep the bipartisan 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule, which protects our forests from wildfires and corporate exploitation.Please do not rescind the Roadless Area Conservation Rule, Secretary Rollins. Allowing road construction and logging in these forests will destroy areas crucial to Native Tribes’ spirituality, culture, identity, and survival. These forests provide clean drinking water for more than 60 million U.S. residents and are crucial ecosystems for the wildlife that Tribal Nations depend on. The U.S. federal government has legal obligations to Tribes, including engaging in early and meaningful government-to-government consultation before making decisions about ancestral Tribal homelands. If you take this step to rescind the Roadless Rule, you will violate Tribal sovereignty and therefore the U.S. Constitution. In your own draft environmental impact statement, the federal government incorrectly claims that rescinding the Roadless Rule is a solution to the wildfire crisis. But fires don’t start without cause, and the U.S. Forest Service itself has stated that 9 out of 10 wildfires are caused by people. In fact, fires are four times more likely to start near a road due to cigarettes thrown from car windows, abandoned camp fires, and hot under-carriages of cars igniting tall dry grass.Over the years, many Tribes have spoken out against repealing or making exceptions to the Roadless Rule. Many have done so in the past year, so I’m writing to lift up their voices and urge you to fulfill your obligations to them. The Central Council of the Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska wrote: “The Tongass is more than an ecosystem -- it is our home. It is the foundation of our identity, our culture, and our way of life.” They explained that this step took place “without any prior consultation with our Tribe or other Southeast Alaska tribes” and called on the USDA to “suspend this decision until meaningful consultation is held with tribal nations, as required under federal law and trust obligations.”Gloria Burns, the President of the Ketchikan Indian Community in Alaska said: “We the people of Kichxáan are the Tongass. You cannot separate us from the land… This is an attack on Tribes and our people who depend on the land to eat. The federal government must act and provide us the safeguards we need or leave our home roadless… Without our lungs (the Tongass) we cannot breathe life into our future generations.”The President of the Organized Village of Kake in Alaska explained: “The remaining old growth timber is so important for providing shelter, the berries, and our medicines. It provides shade for our streams to keep them cool so our salmon can return year after year. We are the people of the forest and salmon people. Salmon has sustained us for thousands of years.” His Tribe also hunts deer and moose, which are rebounding after past clear-cut logging.And the President of the Organized Village of Kasaan in Alaska wrote: “The Roadless Rule has worked well for our Tribe and our community by helping to protect customary and traditional uses of our lands and waters, and the fish, wildlife, trees and plants. This helps us honor our ancestors and provide for current and future generations. It would be a grave mistake to roll back these protections. The Roadless Rule must continue to be upheld across the Tongass National Forest.”Please keep the 2001 Roadless Rule. If you want to make any changes, please meaningfully engage in decision-making with sovereign Tribal Nations, in order to honor your constitutional, trust, and treaty obligations to Tribes.Susan Kellysuebkelly@hotmail.com195 Clepington Road Dundee DD3 7TADundee, Scotland DD3 7TA