Dear Department of Agriculture Leadership:
As a resident of New England, one of the things that draws me to this region is the diversity of landscape that exists. Living in the North Shore of Massachusetts and having the beauty of the roadless land of the White Mountain National Forest within reach has been such a gift. I believe that regulation of this land should remain to keep it protected.
In the fall of 2021, I took my younger sister on her first hike in the White Mountains. We went with a friend up Champney Brook Trail and Piper Trail to summit Mount Chocorua, with pit stops at Middle Sister and Champney Falls. The time we spent trekking 6 miles through the foggy and dense forest to be rewarded with breath-taking views above the clouds sparked a love for the White Mountains in both my sister and I.
In a fast-paced world that is constantly keeping busy, the untouched forest is an oasis. Rescission of the roadless rule would mean losing the chance to protect this oasis for the next generation. I do not want to lose the opportunity to pass on the experience of hiking to those who come after me. For 25 years, the U.S. Forest Service has committed to managing these forests without building roads that enable harmful activities like major logging operations or oil-and-gas drilling. Thanks to this commitment, myself and countless others have been able to enjoy the beauty of the undeveloped backcountry of the national forests. The proposed rollback of the 2001 Roadless Rule puts the 44.5 million acres of this forestland oasis at risk.
“Based on road-effect zones, an estimated 15–20% of the United States is ecologically impacted by roads. Road avoidance, especially due to traffic noise, has a greater ecological impact than roadkills. The still-more-important barrier effect subdivides populations, with demographic and probably genetic consequences. Road networks crossing landscapes cause local hydrologic and erosion effects, whereas stream networks and distant valleys receive major peak-flow and sediment impacts. — Forman et al., 1998 (https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.ecolsys.29.1.207)”
“wildfires are almost twice as likely to occur in roaded areas as in roadless areas, because roadless areas are generally located further away from communities and are harder to access — U.S. Senate, 2025 (https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/senate-bill/2042/text)”
Additionally, I'd ask you to consider the existing backlog of maintenance that exists in the current forest road infrastructure today. If the Forest Service is unable to maintain the roads that have already been built today, I'm concerned of the impact of additional roads to this already costly backlog.
“Even with the Roadless Rule in place, the Forest Service already has a 360,000 mile road system – twice as long as the nation's highway system – crisscrossing national forests. This forest road infrastructure is already so big that the Forest Service cannot afford to properly maintain it, triggering a maintenance backlog that has ballooned to billions in needed repairs. — Earthjustice & organizations, 2025 (https://earthjustice.org/document/roadless-rule-ngo-sign-on-letter-9-19-25)”
“the Forest Service has an enormous backlog of maintenance needs for the existing 368,102-mile road system of the Forest Service that will cost $5,980,000,000 to eliminate — U.S. Senate, 2025 (https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/senate-bill/2042/text)”
Thank you for your time in considering this comment. Do not rollback the Roadless Rule.
With respect,