“Dear Secretary Rollins, I urge you not to rescind the 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule (Roadless Rule)…”

Dear Secretary Rollins, I urge you not to rescind the 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule (Roadless Rule). The nearly 45 million acres of intact, roadless national forests protected by the Ruleincluding approximately 4 million acres in Utahprovide irreplaceable benefits to communities, wildlife, and future generations. Roadless areas protect cultural sites and traditional resources important to Native American Tribes, watersheds that supply clean drinking water, and habitat for native fish and wildlife. They also offer outstanding opportunities for hiking, camping, hunting, fishing, climbing, mountain biking, birdwatching, and other forms of nonmotorized recreation. These intact forests also store carbon and help communities and ecosystems respond to a changing climate. Roadless national forests are also part of a larger network of connected public lands. They help link mountain ecosystems and headwaters with neighboring BLM lands, including the wilderness-caliber lands proposed for protection in Americas Red Rock Wilderness Act. This proposal is not necessary to preserve access to existing roads, trailheads, or recreation opportunities. Rather, rescinding the Roadless Rule would make it easier to build new roads and open some of our most intact public lands to commercial logging, mining, and other extractive development. New roads carry lasting consequences: they fragment wildlife habitat, erode soils, degrade streams and water supplies, spread invasive species, and increase human disturbance. They can also increase wildfire ignitions. The claim that rescinding the Roadless Rule will protect communities from wildfire is not supported by the best available science. The Rule already allows wildfire suppression and certain fuel-reduction work, including emergency road construction when necessary. We can protect communities from wildfire without sacrificing the last intact roadless forests to permanent roadbuilding and industrial development. Once again, I urge you to protect Americas forests, waters, wildlife, and public lands by withdrawing this proposal and leaving the Roadless Rule in place for future generations.