“I have grown up hiking on the trails and seeing the beauty of Western North Carolina for 17 years. Honestly…”

I have grown up hiking on the trails and seeing the beauty of Western North Carolina for 17 years. Honestly, nothing has made me more angry than having to continually fight to protect the wilderness surrounding me over the past several years from our own government, which was created to protect the interests of the people of the United States of America. The Roadless Rule exists to protect these areas of wilderness that support a stable environment, and the continuous attempts to degrade them endanger livelihoods and our fundamental rights to life and liberty. The Roadless Rule protects not only ecosystems, but the endangered species like Hellbenders that live in them as well. There is no reason to repeal the Roadless Rule to encourage economic greed. It would be different if this were solely to prevent wildfires in wilderness areas that are difficult to reach, but the public understands that it would be more for corporate greed than for our common good. Thank you for your time. The Forest Service should keep the Roadless Rule intact exactly as it is. Do not weaken or repeal this critical policy. National forests are the heart of our public lands. The Roadless Area Conservation Rule protects some of the wildest forests we have left, forests that protect critical wildlife habitat and drinking water for millions. Revoking the Roadless Rule puts landscapes, wildlife, and communities at risk. Not only is the Roadless Rule good policy, it's also wildly popular across the country, with over 600,000 people submitting comments to the US Forest Service last year in support of keeping the rule in place. And more than 20 years ago, the American people overwhelmingly called for our national forests to be protected for future generations. Revoking the Roadless Rule would destroy the natural inheritance we leave for our children.