I oppose the full or partial rescinding of the Roadless Area Conservation Rule. I live in Illinois and have enjoyed hiking and birding in both the Shawnee National Forest (Illinois) and the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest (Wisconsin) for most of my life. I will focus my comments on Shawnee, as it's in my state, but the same concerns apply to the Chequamegon-Nicolet.
The Shawnee National Forest is Illinois' primary wilderness sanctuary and lifting the roadless rule would permanently degrade the silence and blessed isolation that greets hikers and birders like me, and the vast uninterrupted blocks of old-growth and mature trees that protects our native and migratory bird populations. Adding roads into the Burke Branch and Ripple Hollow sections of the Shawnee would fundamentally ruin its recreational use. Additionally, the loss of vegetation for road construction and industrial access would increase water run-off, flash flooding, and erosion. These changes put hikers and birders at risk and permanently impact the ecosystems that native and migratory birds depend on for survival. Rescinding the roadless rule would carve out nearly 11,000 acres of bird habitat in the Shawnee. Birds like the Cerulean Warbler and Northern Perula require vast, uninterrupted high-canopy, old-growth interiors, and Ovenbirds and Kentucky Warblers, low-understory nesters, depend on well insulated, dense forest interiors that avoid forest edges where they are vulnerable to predators. Predators hunt prey along forest edges where open, linear clearings like forest roads, lie.
Rescinding the roadless rule will result in habit loss, environmental degradation, and lost breeding grounds. Rescinding the roadless rule will bring increased noise, pollution, industrial activity, and predator access. Rescinding the roadless rule will make the Shawnee flora and fauna vulnerable to invasive species and disease which would have far reaching, unintended consequences.
My brother grew up in the Boy Scouts and was a Boy Scout leader for three decades. In all that time the most anticipated, and memorable, annual overnight adventure was to the Shawnee. This land, along with every other at risk by this rescission, must be saved for the generations ahead of us: The hikers, the birders, the Boy Scouts, and our families and neighbors. Our National Forests are our heritage and they belong equally to all of us to enjoy and keep for future generations. I want to continue to wander these trails, be thrilled at the site of an elusive Cerulean Warbler, and drink in the vastness of Shawnee's Garden of the Gods.
Please keep roadless land intact and take NO ACTION. Thank you for your help in protecting and preserving our natural lands.