Read the comments.

Special Areas; Roadless Area Conservation Public Comment,The U.S. government has never kept to its treaties since the beginning of our colonization of this country. It is time to be honest and respectful. This land was inhabited, loved and cared for long before we arrived here.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.Christine Colemanbio-twill.75@icloud.com446 Homestead LnBoalsburg, Pennsylvania 16827

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. Please stop and think. Realize this situation is not causing fires in forests. Use some sense for a change! Respect Tribal sovereignty!Beth Blackledgeblackledge90@myctl.net2430 Heimel StSouth Saint Paul, Minnesota 55075

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 TribesI've seen the effects on my local forest of putting a road through a roadless area: not complete devastation, but a huge loss of forest health and bi9diversity. DON'T DO IT!Judy Johnsonjujojo4343@gmail.com1530 woodman circle Placerville , California 95667

Special Areas; Roadless Area Conservation Public Comment,Please save old growth forests! Once cut, they cannot be brought back!!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.Thank you for honoring our laws and our constitution.Sherry Zittersherryzitter@icloud.com149 Lake Rd.Brookfield, Massachusetts 01506

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.WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU EVIL PEOPLE??? STOP DESTROYING OUR COUNTRY! ALL YOU CARE ABOUT ARE PAYOFFS FROM THE RICH PEOPLE. KARMA WILL GET YOU IN THE END.DEBORAH WINESICKLEDeborah Winesickledeb3676@gmail.com5478 Business 220Bedford, Pennsylvania 15522

Special Areas; Roadless Area Conservation Public Comment,Last year, more than 625,000 people, including me, 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 what little in tact wilderness we have left. Fragmenting forests with roads will increase wildfire risk, further fregment habitat for endangered and threatened species like wolves and grizzly bears, and destroy sacred tribal relationships. 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.Julie Maurerjuliemaurer@proton.me1727 W 2nd StDuluth, Minnesota 55806

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.That surely tells you that if you meddle with the Roadless Rule, you are on entirely the wrong track!So, once more: 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 also 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 echo 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 other changes, please meaningfully engage in decision-making with sovereign Tribal Nations, in order to honor your constitutional, trust, and treaty obligations to Tribes.Lynden Macgregorlynden.macgregor@gmail.com27 Kent StreetDEAKIN, Australian Capital Territory 2600

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.And these forests do not belong to anyoneBUT the natives. Stop the destruction of our holy lands and their reverend ground!!!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.Dianne Papes Dianne Papesdianne@helmsmv.org503 Sunrise Dr., 503 Sunrise Dr.Kent, Ohio 44240-1623

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. This is the right thing to do, so please do so, not only for this generation, but for those that follow. Thank you for readig this and considering this very important issue.Emilie Beardembeard665@yahoo.com4414 Dodge AvenueFort Wayne, Indiana 46815

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.If you are really interested in starting forest fires, go back to the land you or your people came from and put some roads through those forests.priscillaPriscilla Hinckleypriscilla@hinckley.com130 Mountain Rd.Vienna, Maine 04360

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.Just because BIG CORPORATIONS WANT TO MAKE BIG BUCKS OFF OF TRIBAL LANDS AND POLLUTE THE LAND AT THE SAME TIME, IT IS NOT RIGHT NOR THE AMERICAN WAY.Petet Montaguepitamon@verizon.net313 Oak Ln WExton, Pennsylvania 19341