Subject: Public Comment: Oppose the Rescission of the Roadless Area Conservation Rule (DocketFS-2025-0001)
Dear Secretary Rollins and U. S. Forest Service Officials,
I’m writing as a 50-year resident of Utah and frequent user of the Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National forests. I strongly oppose rescinding or even weakening the 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule. Utah has 8000 miles of roads and 2000 miles trails overseen by the BLM. And the Forest Service oversees 10,000 – 20,000 miles of roads and trails in Utah. Utah’s Fishlake National Forest is home to the largest living organism in the WORLD, “Pando”, a clone of quaking aspens covering 106 acres—this is something to cherish, celebrate and protect. Across the United States the U.S. Forest Service oversees 380,000 miles of roads—that’s 8x longer than the entire U.S. Interstate System. We’ve already seen cuts to the agencies who maintain these roads and trails—we don’t need any more. The roadless areas in our state provide wildlife habitat and corridors and they serve as watersheds for our community’s drinking water.
Please preserve the integrity of Utah’s public lands keep the protections of the 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule intact,
Sincerely,
Julie Simonds
6315 Snowview Dr
Park City, UT 84098