FS-2025-0001-449065

To the U.S. Forest Service: I am writing to express my strong opposition to any efforts to rescind, weaken, or roll back the 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule. As an avid user and advocate for our nation’s public lands, I rely heavily on the integrity and protection of our inventoried roadless areas. Growing up in East Tennessee our family enjoyed back packing & car camping which most of our vacations centered around. As a child we played in the creeks, hiked to many waterfalls creating a deep love for our roadless areas. Snowbird Creek was one of our favorite areas and we still return there as it has so many sweet memories of precious time with my Father. As an adult we live in the North Ga Mountains and we continue to hike & camp and are grateful the roadless areas are right out our back door. Please preserve these areas for our children & grandchildren so that they too can experience the joy of the beautiful nature we are so blessed to have. Protecting these unfragmented landscapes is deeply personal to me because we depend on these watersheds for clean drinking water, we treasure hiking the backcountry trails and value the pristine wildlife habitats. I urge the U.S. Forest Service and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to abandon the proposed rescission and instead maintain full protections for all currently designated inventoried roadless areas. Thank you for the opportunity to provide public comment and for standing up for our forests, and for your passion to protect our public lands. Sincerely, Laura Anderson Hiawassee, GA 30546