“incredible bipartisan support for the conservation and protection”
“No majority in this country wants the Roadless Rule revoked”
“Campers, hikers, hunters, conservationists, and more all across the political divide all agree”
The comment
Dear Secretary Rollins,
As a citizen of this country, I strongly believe in the Roadless Rule. It is a means of protection for wildlife and the environment in a time where we are seeing increasing concerns for the conservation and protections of these spaces. This isn’t a democrat vs republican issue. In a recent poll by Susquehanna Polling and Research, Inc. (https://www.pew.org/-/media/assets/2026/02/national-poll-on-roadless-rule.pdf), it showed incredible bipartisan support for the conservation and protection of national forests and roadless lands. Campers, hikers, hunters, conservationists, and more all across the political divide all agree. None of this is possible without the safeguarding of these last wild areas.
If we are making the claim that these lands are a fire hazard, the Roadless Rule already allows for management projects to reduce wildfire risks (prescribed fire, tree thinning, etc). There is also research that strongly suggests that most wildfires are caused by humans, with 95% of those wildfires being within a ½ mile from a road and that only 3% of wildfires start in wilderness areas more than 1.24 miles from a road (https://www.pacificbio.org/publications/wildfire_studies/Roads_And_Wildfires_2007.pdf). Creating roads where more people can cause these issues is an issue in itself.
I love our country’s forests, national parks, and wild space. I love being on public lands and seeing the beautiful areas around me. I believe that we are one of the best places in the world to view an amazing, vast expanse of wilderness and diverse ecosystems. Tourism alone to national parks, public lands, and forests draws millions of visitors and immense economic contributions to the surrounding areas and the rest of the country. In 2023-24 data alone, the National Forest Service generated over $45 billion in GDP and supported almost 400,000 jobs (https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GOVPUB-A13-PURL-gpo239285/pdf/GOVPUB-A13-PURL-gpo239285.pdf). Why would we do anything that could actively harm this? What would logging or mining or building roads in these areas do except create short-term profits that would ruin the surrounding wilderness and negatively impact the forests and wildlife would that would sustain this tourism and its economic/environmental impact over decades?
This is protected land that should be protected throughout the whole country, at all times. There should be set standards that follow scientific research and safeguards that protect these spaces from officials with loyalties that undermine conservation efforts. There are already threats to the endangered animals in this country because of changing rules that prioritize fast development and corporate interests over sustainable environmental impacts. Many of these endangered species live in these roadless areas. The destruction of their habitat will create extinctions of many of these species and make our country lesser.
The government is supposed to work in the interests of the people and the country as a whole. No majority in this country wants the Roadless Rule revoked. We want wild space. We want wildlife. We want clean, natural recreation space. We want our national forests, public lands, and national parks to remain for the people of this country and our future children for generations to come.
Sincerely,
Jennifer DeGrauwe
Chicago, IL 60617
jedegra@gmail.com