I strongly oppose any proposal to fully or partially rescind the Roadless Area Conservation Rule.
I have volunteered with the U.S. Forest Service in the Cleveland National Forest (CNF), Trabuco District, since 2010. I also regularly hike and spend time in California’s national forests and other public lands. Through my years of hands-on stewardship, I have picked up trash, removed graffiti, led native plant hikes, and guided meditation-in-nature walks. These experiences have given me a deep appreciation for the ecological value of our public lands—and a firsthand understanding of how much care and protection they require.
Roadless areas are among our most valuable remaining intact wildlands. Weakening their protections would put these landscapes at greater risk of habitat fragmentation, invasive species, erosion, and permanent loss of native biodiversity. As a Southern California native, I know how rare and precious intact natural habitats have become. We cannot afford to treat our remaining roadless areas as expendable.
Road construction is not simply the addition of a road. It permanently alters the landscape. Roads can fragment habitat, disturb soils, facilitate the spread of non-native plants, increase human access and disturbance, and degrade ecological processes that took generations to develop. Once an intact wildland is fragmented or degraded, restoring its ecological functions can be extraordinarily difficult—and in some cases impossible.
Roadless areas also provide essential habitat for native plants, insects, wildlife, and countless other organisms. They protect watersheds and help preserve the ecological connectivity that allows native species and natural processes to persist. These places are also classrooms, refuges, and sources of connection for people. They give children and adults opportunities to experience nature, learn about native ecosystems, and develop a lasting sense of responsibility for our public lands.
My years of volunteering in the CNF have made clear to me that protecting these places is not an abstract environmental concern. It is practical stewardship. It means preserving functioning ecosystems rather than attempting to repair them after they have been damaged.
The Forest Service should strengthen—not weaken—the protections that keep our remaining roadless areas intact. These lands belong to all of us, and we have a responsibility to pass them on to future generations with their biodiversity, wildlife habitat, clean water, and ecological integrity preserved.
I urge the Forest Service to maintain the Roadless Area Conservation Rule and reject any proposal to rescind or weaken its protections.
Thank you.