Dear Forest Service:
I have enjoyed time in nature since I was a child. Protecting our Earth is extremely important to me - and should be to society at large, because it is our home. The rescission of this Rule would destroy the environment and leave us more susceptible to a whole host of problems, including loss of biodiversity and climate change.
Having roadless forests in the area is important for preserving local ecosystems, including the wildlife balance of all the flora and fauna. As a resident who lives nearby, I want dangerous animals like coyotes and mountain lions to have an undeveloped area to hunt and live so they don’t attack the pets of those in my neighborhood. I want the lizards, birds, and bats that eat mosquitos to have plentiful opportunities for reproduction so they keep those pests in check. The forest provides that.
The roadless forest near me is Little Lake Creek in the National Forests in Texas, where the Alligator Snapping Turtle (Macrochelys temminckii, G3) is a key species. Without the protections of the 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule, the turtle loses its primary buffer against “7.2 - Dams & water management/use.”
Studies have shown the deleterious impact of development in natural areas. A 2022 study from Biological Conservation journal states: "Frequent human disturbance caused by mining development and road construction in the Kalamaili Mountain Ungulate Nature Reserve (KNR) — inhabited by 80% of Chinese khulan (Equus hemionus) — has interfered with or completely blocked their movement and access to parts of the reserve. The habitat of khulan in KNR went from a good natural habitat in 2005 to deterioration due to mining development in 2011. In 2019, road construction likely hindered its recovery to pre-mining levels. Our study revealed the significant impacts that mining development and road construction have had on the distribution of core habitats, ecological corridors, and movement of khulan."
The Alligator Snapping Turtle in the Little Lake Creek Inventoried Roadless Area depends on the unroaded landscape to moderate exposure to “7.2 - Dams & water management/use.” Road construction in this area eliminates the spatial buffer between the threat source and occupied habitat.
This rescission would destroy what little natural land we have left in our country. Please don’t let this rescission pass.
With gratitude,
Abigail C