“I strongly oppose the proposal to rescind the 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule. As a Western North…”

I strongly oppose the proposal to rescind the 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule. As a Western North Carolina resident, I see firsthand how vital these protected spaces are to our community and our daily lives. My own children have grown up exploring the Pisgah National Forest—hiking its trails, swimming in its clear streams, camping under the stars, and developing a deep lifelong appreciation for nature. Stripping away roadless protections would directly threaten the future of the very places that define childhood and family life for so many of us in this region. Opening these undisturbed areas to road construction and logging would permanently scar and fragment the Pisgah. Decades of research show that new roads lead to immediate soil erosion, degrade the pristine water quality of our mountain watersheds, and invite invasive species that displace native wildlife. These wild, intact backcountry spaces are irreplaceable, and once they are broken up by development, they are gone forever. Rather than reversing protections that have successfully safeguarded our public lands for a quarter-century, the Forest Service should leave the current rule fully in place. I urge the agency to reject this rollback and choose the No Action Alternative so that future generations of North Carolina families can continue to hike, camp, and find peace in a healthy, intact forest.