FS-2025-0001-317266

Dear reader, I strongly oppose the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s proposal to rescind the 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule. I grew up in rural Northeast Georgia in a small town surrounded by public lands and dense Appalachian forests. The experiences that shaped who I am today all took place in areas that are protected under the Roadless Area Conservation Rule including the National Wild & Scenic Chattooga River corridor. My family hiked the trails near the river and took on the whitewater challenges the Chattooga River presented, teaching me grit, resilience, hard work, and how to have fun even when it's pouring rain and 40 degrees outside. I am one of tens of thousands of recreationists that visit this area each year, one tiny area protected by the rule. When I travel to areas protected by this rule, I am supporting local small town economies that rely on tourism from outdoor recreationists like myself. These forests are the backbone of a $1.3 trillion outdoor recreation economy that supports 5.2 million jobs. In addition, the protection of this area under the rule provides undisturbed habitats essential for threatened, endangered, and sensitive species; as well as state species of greatest concern, migratory birds, and wildlife valued by hunters and anglers. These values are often not accessible on local public land outside of Roadless Area protection, and they would be irrevocably damaged by roadbuilding and logging if the Roadless Rule were stripped away. Beyond that, keeping wild places wild is one of the best climate change mitigation strategies we have. The forests in Southern Appalachia are powerful carbon sinks, and we need them to stay that way to slow the impacts of climate change, including from extreme weather events. Roadless Areas also protect against wildfire ignition risk, at a time when wildfire severity is rising nationwide. In fact, over the past three decades, wildfires were nearly 4X more likely to start within 50m of a road than in Inventoried Roadless Areas. Current Roadless Rule protections not only address the threat of wildfire ignition, but they also already allow flexibility for forest management activities and roadbuilding when necessary to fight fires. Since 2001, Roadless Areas have effectively preserved many of the most important characteristics of our public lands, such as clean water, intact mature and old-growth forests, wildlife, and recreational opportunities that simply don’t exist anywhere else. In the Southern Appalachian Mountains, the values protected by Inventoried Roadless Areas are especially rare. Opening up Roadless Areas to logging and roadbuilding would destroy the most significant vestiges of natural landscape remaining in the Southern Appalachians, in a way that can’t be undone for generations—if ever. The Roadless Rule serves the interests of local communities and visitors who benefit from Inventoried Roadless Area values. This is apparent in the 99.8% of comments which opposed this proposed action at the Notice of Intent stage. Repealing the Roadless Rule would not “provide benefits to the American people” as the Department claims, but would, instead, refute the will of the public, who overwhelmingly support keeping the Roadless Rule in place. There is therefore no need to repeal the popular and effective Roadless Rule. It is working. I strongly urge you to keep the 2001 Roadless Rule intact. Thank you for considering my statement, Avery