I spent most of my 76 years living in Kentucky visiting the Daniel Boone national Forest. Participating in workshops put on by the US Forest service to monitor threaten bird species in Kentucky. I also taught high school biology for 27 years and then managed a large national historic site in Kentucky for another 16 years.
I believe rescinding the roadless area act will cause great harm to forests in Kentucky. Putting in roads is a tremendous expense, only to allow development and logging which by my observation, always leads to major erosion. And the erosion and sediment that it creates affects all the aquatic organisms in the watersheds.
Mature for us, take in carbon dioxide and give all oxygen which we cannot live without. using a scare tactic, such as it will prevent forest fires. I am a certified wildland firefighter, and participate in many prescribed burns in Kentucky and North Carolina on restored Prairie areas and Woodland Settings. Prescribed burns are an effective way to manage forests.
I have seen the recreational and tourist industry flourish in eastern Kentucky and the land between the lakes all without opening up pristine forest areas for development. And putting in roads inevitably leads to development.
Don Pelly
Educator
Land Manager
Co-author, Benefits of converting agricultural land to native grasses and wildflowers.