“building more roads does not make sense as a way to protect against forest fires”
The comment
(Submitted via Portal)
TO: Director, Ecosystem Management Coordinator
210 14th Street, SW, MAILSTOP 1108
Washington, DC 20250-1124
Date 10/5/26
Re: 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule Rescission
Reference #: RIN 0596-AD66
I live in the Pacific Northwest, where I enjoy hiking, camping, fishing and back packing, and I am writing in support of keeping the roadless rule.
Alternative 1, the no-action alternative, keeps the current Roadless Area Conservation Rule intact.
Please consider my comments and please choose alternative 1.
Roadless areas provide crucial habitat for more species than we can count- some of them threatened or endangered, and all of them dependent on each other and the land they live on. Animals need to be able to move freely through their habitat to conduct their normal lives. Roads break up the landscape, causing damage not just to the exact location of the road but also to the surrounding area. Debris from the construction, disruption to the normal flow of water and increased sediment being washed into bodies of water all change the landscape in ways that are detrimental.
Roadless areas protect clean water. This water is habitat for many species of fish, invertebrates and frogs, and it is drinking water for people. All life depends on the water, from the smallest insect that lays its eggs in the water to the bat that eats the insect to the plants that are fertilized by the bat guano, and continuing along the food chain.
Road construction increases fire risk- most fires start near a road. Therefore, building more roads does not make sense as a way to protect against forest fires.
The Forest Service doesn’t have the resources to maintain the roads for which it is already responsible, so it seems irresponsible to build more.
When we travel the region for outdoor recreation, we buy gear and food. We support the economies in the towns we pass through.
Like most Americans, I greatly value and want to protect our public lands. We need these lands for both quiet and excitement, for challenging ourselves and for appreciating beauty. We are so lucky to have such spectacular public lands- we should safeguard them and not squander them.