I oppose the rollback of the Roadless Area Conservation Rule. For more than two decades, the Roadless Rule has protected much of the few remaining wild and undeveloped areas within our national forests. Those protections are especially important in the Midwest, where less than 200,000 acres of roadless forest remain after generations of widespread logging and development.
In Wisconsin’s Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest and Michigan’s Ottawa, Hiawatha, and Huron-Manistee National Forests, these remaining roadless areas provide important wildlife habitat, protect clean water, store carbon, and preserve places where people can experience our public lands without roads and development.
These areas also support outdoor recreation and the communities and businesses that depend on it. Once these remaining roadless areas are opened to road construction and development, we cannot simply recreate what has been lost.
There is no reason to roll back protections that have been in place for more than two decades. I urge you to leave the Roadless Rule in place and protect the remaining wild areas of our national forests for future generations.
I urge you to stop rolling back protections for our public lands and leave our last wild forests intact. Please keep the Roadless Rule in place.
Sincerely,
Ms. Miriam Leary
2586 Wickfield Rd West Bloomfield, MI 48323-3271
attorneymleary@gmail.com