Look, am I a hiker? No. But, guess what? For every lazy old slouch like me there are a thousand young and old people who enjoy these roadless areas! They like them for lots of reasons, but the main one is—you guessed it—because they are ROADLESS. A road less traveled is for Frost and for thousands of wanderers who want to see birds, not Buicks—or even bikes! They want to see and hear the beauty of the natural world. So do I, for that matter, even if I have my own places to visit that are not as hard on my old bones as some of these places. I want there to be undisturbed land for my grandkids to wander and explore without the noise, the pollution, and the ugliness of the vehicles that will surely mar these areas should this rule be dismissed.
So, yes, I strongly oppose the proposed repeal of the 2001 Roadless Rule.
Our national forests are public lands, our shared birthright, and they should be protected for the benefit of everyone, not opened to greater roadbuilding and commercial logging. In West Virginia, the Roadless Rule safeguards treasured places like Roaring Plains, Seneca Creek, Cheat Mountain, Canaan Mountain and Tea Creek, while protecting important buffers around Dolly Sods, Otter Creek and Cranberry.
These wild, unfragmented landscapes provide clean water, wildlife habitat and irreplaceable opportunities for outdoor recreation. Once they are lost, we cannot easily restore them. Please preserve the Roadless Rule and protect our shared public lands for future generations.
It would be just grand of you to leave our wild, wonderful WV wild and wonderful, and wooded and whimsical. Enough already. Stay away from these beautiful areas.
Sincerely,
Jodi Jones
Sincerely,
Jodi Jones
PO Box 764 Davis, WV 26260-0764
jodijones1362@gmail.com