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I urge the U.S. Forest Service to withdraw the proposal to rescind the 2001 Roadless Rule and keep full protection for the Chunky Gal (addition) Inventoried Roadless Area in the Nantahala National Forest, and for every roadless area.
My name is Sarah McAuliffe, and I live in Hiawassee, Georgia, a short drive from Chunky Gal. When I was only 8, I started hiking the Appalachian Trail, following in the footsteps of my grandfather Dan Quillian, an acclaimed longbow archer and conservationist. He helped start the native animal zoo at Athens' Memorial Park, now Bear Hollow, which cares for animals that can't be returned to the wild. Within my lifetime, that has included a bald eagle. Seeing it unable to live a full life is like seeing America hurting too.
Here in Hiawassee, I see eagles flying over Lake Chatuge. I can't say what kind they are, and isn't that the point? They're doing well, far away from us, in the sky and at the tops of the trees. Eagles need giant trees, clean water full of fish, and quiet. Roads take away all three.
Roads will not lessen wildfire. A 2026 study of 32 years of national forest fire data found ignitions four times higher near roads than in roadless areas, and 84 percent of U.S. wildfires are human-caused. A century of road-enabled fire suppression is what built up the fuel in the first place.
Chunky Gal's 3,336 acres hold federally endangered species including the Carolina northern flying squirrel, gray, Indiana, and northern long-eared bats, green pitcher plant, and rock gnome lichen, along with the eastern hellbender and rare fen and bog communities found almost nowhere else. Its cold headwater streams depend on intact forest shade, and road sediment would bury the clean gravel these species need. National forests supply drinking water to at least 124 million Americans.
The stillness and sounds of nature help us regulate our bodies and minds and find moments of peace and clarity. Road noise would take that from the animals and from hikers like me.
I also love to look around and wonder what in these forests may one day help cure diseases like cancer. More than half of current cancer drugs come from compounds first found in nature. Places like Chunky Gal are libraries we have barely opened.
It is my dream that the wilderness stays wild. Untouched wildness is our greatest treasure, for those on the planet now and those who'll come after we're gone. Our legacy matters.
Please see my attached comment for full details and sources.
Sincerely,
Sarah McAuliffe