I am writing to urge you NOT to rescind the 2001 Roadless Rule. Doing so would be a betrayal of the American public and the antithesis of responsible land, water, and wildlife management. It is also an egregious breach of U.S. Tribal Nations' treaty rights.
Removing the rule subverts public will—the 2011 rule is popular with both political parties and has been supported by millions of public comments. Upending this rule is a get-rich-quick scheme for a few individuals, not for the benefit of the American public or for our future generations.
It will do immeasurable harm to public land. Roadless areas are vital to watersheds, habitat, and migratory corridors. Fish, wildlife, and people all depend on intact forests for many vital reasons—water storage, habitat, clean air, and carbon storage. Their health is imperative to us all. Rescinding the Roadless Rule would create even more threats of wildfire, bringing more traffic into remote places—human-caused fires are the most common and cause the most damage. By building roads into intact ecosystems, opportunities to start fires increase.
Legally, it flouts agreements with Tribal Nations and circumvents Tribal Historic Preservation protection of sacred sites and ancestral remains (under federal law and Executive Order 13175). This is also an infringement of Treaty & ANILCA Title VIII Rights (for Alaska Tribal members), as well as the Endangered Species Act (ESA), the Federal Land Policy and Management Act (FLPMA), the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), and the Clean Water Act.
I urge you to keep the 2001 Roadless Rule in place. The federal government bears the responsibility to protect the public trust, the law, public lands, and Tribal sovereignty. Overturning the rule is theft from the American public and an outrageous attack on our waters, lands, and wildlife.
I urge you to uphold the 2001 Roadless Rule.