FS-2025-0001-525826

I minored in outdoor recreation in college. Then, worked for 6 years, from 2010-2016, in the outdoor industry for a local southern California company selling retail and wholesale outdoor recreation products like backpacks, boots, tents, and snow shoes. We also rented used gear locally at very low cost so more people could experience the outdoors at any price point. The purpose and mission was to grow an outdoor community that would return again and again to both the great outdoors and our stores for reliable gear and advice. Our stores, and the $1.3 trillion U.S. outdoor recreation industry as a whole, rely on access to public lands and pristine wild spaces. The 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule protects roughly 4.0 to 4.4 million acres (about 20% to 21%) of California's national forest lands across Inventoried Roadless Areas (IRAs). The federal proposal to rescind the Roadless Rule impacts pristine and undeveloped forest regions statewide, spanning Northern, Central, and Southern California national forests. Rescinding protections of these public lands like the Roadless Rule will have direct economic impacts on the outdoor recreation industry and recreation community nationwide, everyday Americans making a living and enjoying this great land, our greatest heritage. Some of the impacted National Forests and regions I have directly spent time in will be impacted by rescinding the Roadless Rule: • Southern California: Protects over 1 million acres across the Angeles National Forest, Cleveland National Forest, Los Padres National Forest, and San Bernardino National Forest. I have personally spent countless hours and numerous camping trips in these national forests. I have introduced friends and family to the joys of backpacking, camping, and hiking here. They are absolutely remarkable areas and at risk from fires and encroaching development. • Sierra-Cascades & Central California: Covers high-elevation conifer and old-growth zones in the Eldorado National Forest, Inyo National Forest, Lassen National Forest, Sierra and Sequoia National Forests, Tahoe National Forest, and roughly 200,000 acres around the Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit. I have camped and backpacker with my family most summers since 2007 in the Inyo National Forest. It is a treasure. This is where I introduced my sister to backpacking and my husband to snow camping in the early spring. All of the small outdoor shops and guiding services along Highway 395 depend on these wild spaces remaining pristine and accessible. I now live in Washington State and absolutely love the mountains and forests here, too. I climb, hike, and mountain bike in them nearly every weekend. The Roadless Rule protects parts of six major national forests across Washington, including the following where I personally spend time enjoying the outdoors on public land: • Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest, • Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest, • Olympic National Forest, • Giffort Pinchot National Forest. I am an American taxpayer and the Roadless Rule matters to me personally. It also matters to the Outdoor Industry which provides jobs and income to countless people across the country, jobs that will exist even as AI grows and other industries suffer. People need access to America's wild spaces, its undeveloped serenity, and its pristine beauty now more than ever. Once lost, this great heritage of wild public spaces will be gone forever. For biodiversity, for mental and physical health, for decreased fire danger, for present stewardship, and for future generations, please do not rescind the Roadless Rule. It was and remains wildly popular among voters and American citizens. Thank you for your consideration.