FS-2025-0001-580489

As members of the National Parks Conservation Association’s (NPCA) Mid-Atlantic Regional Council we urge the U.S. Forest Service to keep the Roadless Rule in place to protect the water, air quality, climate resilience, and wildlife that sustain our national parks including the Blue Ridge Parkway, New River Gorge, and the Appalachian Trail. It was from the 27,000-acre Little River roadless area just west of Shenandoah National Park, that the Roadless Rule was formally announced in 2001, thus elevating the incredible value these intact forests play to our region. The Council works with NPCA’s Mid-Atlantic regional staff and includes business and community leaders committed to securing the future of our national parks. We work with communities and businesses to support national parks and broader park landscapes in Delaware, District of Columbia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia. Healthy national parks depend on healthy forests, clean waterways, and intact public lands beyond their boundaries, including many places protected by the Roadless Rule. More than 45 million acres of national forest lands are designated roadless, and nearly 30% of those acres are within 30 miles of national park sites. Rescinding these protections would leave some of our last intact forests vulnerable to increased logging, mining, oil and gas development, and other harmful uses. This includes more than 202,00o acres of roadless area in West Virginia, 394,000 acres in Virginia, and 25,000 acres in Pennsylvania Across the Mid-Atlantic Region, roadless areas protect upstream forests, watersheds, wildlife habitat, and recreation landscapes that support local economies and the national parks millions of Americans visit each year. These protections include: Roadless areas in the Jefferson and George Washington national forests that help sustain the viewshed, outdoor recreation access, and air quality for portions of the Blue Ridge Parkway and the Appalachian Trail. These two national park service sites saw more than 16 million (Blue Ridge Parkway) and 6 million (AT) visitors in 2025. The 9,444-acre Northern Massanutten and 11,985-acre Southern Massanutten roadless areas that lay to the west of Shenandoah, which support federally listed species including the Indian Bat and Northeastern bulrush, contain portions of the headwaters of the Shenandoah River drainage, and offer outdoor recreation opportunities such as hiking, mountain biking, trout fishing, and birding. More than 310,000 acres of roadless areas in the Chesapeake Bay watershed. Roadless lands in the George Washington and Jefferson national forests protect the headwaters of the James and Potomac rivers which flow into the ecologically rich Chesapeake Bay and provide clean drinking water for millions. If Roadless Rule protections are rescinded, these lands—and more than 45 million acres of public lands nationwide—could be opened to roadbuilding, large-scale logging, mining, and oil and gas development, putting nearby national parks, gateway communities, clean water, and wildlife at risk. As national park advocates and community leaders from across the region, we urge you to choose the No Action alternative and keep the Roadless Rule in place to protect roadless forests and the national park landscapes they sustain. Thank You, Donald Ayer McLean, VA Bill Hafker Oakton, VA Bob Lane and Diane Clark McLean, VA Bob Rosenbaum Bethesda, MD Deirdre Gibson Media, PA Alexandra DeCandia Washington, D.C. Grace Sica Swarthmore, PA Susan Cooper Delaware Water Gap, PA Jason Zogg Tysons, VA