“economic and ecosystem value of North Carolina's 32 Roadless areas to communities throughout our state is priceless”
“Disrupting these well-visited natural areas would wreak havoc on our local economies”
“potential health and loss of wealth costs of deforested lands far outweigh the proposed economic gains”
What it names
Roadless areas
Black MountainCraggy Mountain
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The comment
To the U.S. Department of Agriculture and U.S. Forest Service:
I am writing you to express my emphatic opposition to any efforts to rescind, weaken or roll back the 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule. These areas are critical for the economic and ecological health of our nation. I am thinking of the future generations who deserve a world worth living in when I plead with you to do everything in your power to preserve our natural resources.
Verified research over the last two decades demonstrates that our nation’s roadless areas are critical for wildfire safety, clean water protection and the ability to withstand excessive heat and storm weather patterns. We are witness to the devastating impacts of deforestation on lands across Europe and are seeing them here in the United States in densely developed areas of our nation. Let us not repeat these mistakes.
Thoughtful care and vital generational wisdom have informed the Roadless Rule regulations. Removal of the current protections for our Roadless area lands could subject them to potential deforestation and impact our nation’s economic and ecological health negatively for generations to come. Our future generations will inherit vastly devastated lands if we allow the last remaining vestiges of uninterrupted lands to be fragmented. The potential health and loss of wealth costs of deforested lands far outweigh the proposed economic gains of removing current regulations. Let’s face it, the capitalistic greed that drives are nation comes at a terrible price for our natural resources. We need to shift to renewable alternatives and keep our natural resources safe.
In my region of the country, the economic and ecosystem value of North Carolina’s 32 Roadless areas to communities throughout our state is priceless. People from across the country come to North Carolina to visit our Roadless areas throughout the year; their visits to our state are vital to our local economies, especially in Western North Carolina where our area is still recovering from the devastation wrought by Hurricane Helene in September of 2024. Disrupting these well-visited natural areas would wreak havoc on our local economies.
The Craggy Mountain area of the Pisgah Forest is near my home in Black Mountain, NC. Protecting the unfragmented roadless landscapes of North Carolina is deeply personal to me. I have been hiking and visiting these areas of our Blue Ridge Mountains for over 59 years. These mountains soothe my heart and nourish my soul. These are some of the wildest places we have left, and the public overwhelmingly supports their protection.
The remaining pristine lands and habitats across our nation are economic and ecological lifelines that are vital to our very survival. I urge the U.S. Forest Service and the U.S. Department of Agriculture to abandon the proposed rescission and instead maintain full protections for all currently designated inventoried roadless areas.
Thank you for the opportunity to provide this public comment.