Good day, My name is Jenesis Jimenez and I am a born and raised Florida resident. Today I write to you on the matter of rescinding the 2001 Roadless Rule. I greatly appreciate the opportunity to comment and advocate for the vital need to continue preserving the 58 million acres of National Forest. Given the chance for the citizens of America to share their comments, and your required advanced identification and disclosure of harm per the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, I am of the belief that the Roadless Rule act could not possibly be rescinded. The honor of being amongst trees that have stood proudly over the centuries is beyond words, nevertheless I will attempt to convey their invaluable role to our magnificent planet and all of the species that reside in it. The National Forests gracefully serve our country by storing clean water that downstream communities depend on and they bring in economic value of recreation in rural communities. As for the imperative function the National Forests have on the planet, the older the forest gets, the more time it has to home a fully-fledged, interconnected ecosystem. Within this ecosystem, the National Forest takes charge of supporting the native and endangered wildlife. The undisturbed effect that the Roadless Rule allows for the National Forests have must be thoroughly reviewed in the environmental impact statement. Habitat connectivity is understood as one of the most important functions of intact, roadless forests, providing migration corridors for species such as elk, deer, fishers, and salmon. Rescinding the Roadless Rule would fragment these landscapes, cutting off wildlife from breeding grounds, food sources, and seasonal ranges, and diminishing the ability of older forests to sustain resilient ecosystems and buffer against climate change. My personal experiences immersed in the old growth forests at Sequoia National Forest and Sierra National Forest, have given me a greater understanding of the meaning of life that could not have been taught without the history of their trees. Allowing for the construction of roads and harvesting of timber, would not only be a great dishonor to the land but would ultimately be detrimental to the sensitive ecosystems, and cause more damage to the environment at an expedited rate.A Pacific Biodiversity Institute study found that over 90% of all wildfires occurred within a half-mile of a road. This is largely because humans, who start the vast majority of fires, are most active near roads. Although the rationale for rescinding the Roadless Rule to permit road building in IRAs is given as reducing wildfire risk, a wide body of research shows that the opposite is true (Aplet et al., 2026; Balch et al., 2017; DellaSala and Frost, 2001; Yang et al., 2006). Shifting fire regimes are the main driver of increased structure loss (Higuera et al., 2023) and have profound implications for species distribution by modifying ecosystem composition and transforming threatened species habitat (Doherty et al., 2024; Hantson et al., 2024). Logging within IRAs runs counter to the urgent need to prevent forest degradation of intact forest ecosystems (Moomaw et al., 2019; Pan et al., 2024; Watson et al., 2016). The protection of Earth's remaining intact forests, including IRAs, is necessary to help humanity adapt to some of its greatest challenges – water security, climate change, and biodiversity loss. The proposed rescission of the Roadless Area Conservation Rule endangers irreplaceable intact forest landscapes in the US. These areas are part of a global network of intact forests vital to regional and planetary health (Dinerstein et al., 2020; Ibisch et al., 2016; Selva et al., 2015; Watson et al., 2018b). The justifications for rescinding the Roadless Rule are fiscally misguided and ecologically flawed. Please keep the Roadless Rule entirely intact.
Sincerely, Jenesis