Dear Brooke L. Rollins,
I am a lifelong Catholic who heeds Pope Francis' call to respect the sanctity of all of God's creation, including the wilderness. The Roadless Rule is essential for keeping forests intact, showing our appreciation for the gift of wild places.
New Hampshire still has substantial areas largely unharmed by human development. These places now serve as the last refuges for species endangered by habitat loss and climate change. To damage these place, and imperil the species that rely upon them, is to show a deep disregard for God's creation, which we are called upon to safeguard.
I am thinking in particular of the Sandwich Range in the White Mountain National Forest, New Hampshire, which would be affected by the proposed rule change. The area's subalpine and high-elevation ecosystems support vulnerable plant species including white bog orchid and Cutler's goldenrod (vulnerable, IUCN), which occupy narrow ecological niches in wetland-upland transition zones and alpine meadows. These species have limited dispersal ability and cannot recolonize disturbed sites quickly. Road construction and associated soil disturbance directly destroy these microhabitats and create corridors for invasive species that outcompete native flora in disturbed soils. Furthermore, climate refugia networks lose resilience non-linearly when fragmented. Road construction in either Sandwich Range or Carr Mountain does not halve the network's climate adaptation value — it collapses the corridor function entirely. The 4 shared climate-threatened species lose access to the full 29,879-acre refugia, not merely the portion in the developed area.
These lands, now under threat, are our birthright, both as Americans and as part of God's creation. It seems with every generation, we discard more of this birthright in favor of short term gain. The cost is always regretted with the next generation, which becomes embittered to its predecessor and their wastefulness. In this time of accelerated extinction and habitat loss, we should slow down and take account of what we value. When I compare a one-time payout with continuous tourism revenue, safeguarded biodiversity, and preserved heritage, the answer is obvious. Do not degrade these lands in gratuitous haste. Listen to the people to whom these lands matter. You answer to us, and we are telling you no. These lands belong to the people, to God's people, not to the powerful and greedy. We speak with many voices but with one answer: no. No to the perversion of our heritage. No to the loss of vital land to future generations. No to the loss of endangered species, which have their own part in God's creation. No to fantasies of growth without end. There is only so much forest left, and we will not carelessly lose any more of it.
Best,
Alex Marshall
CommentID: RLC-20261003-VSZ7NE