“Building more roads as a means to combat forest fires fires is counter productive”
“Forest roads are associated with higher risk of forest fires”
“Wild land fire fighters themselves indicate that more roads will not improve their ability”
What it names
Works cited
Andrews et al. 2015
The comment
To whom it may concern: the following are my thoughts and comments regarding the Trump administrations proposal to rescind the USDA Forest Service Roadless Rule.
I very strongly oppose the rescission of the Forest Service Roadless rule. There are many very valid reasons to oppose this change. There are already over 400,000 miles of Forest Service Roads, and these roads are suffering from tremendous maintenance back log. With so many roads already in poor condition it is ludicrous to build more.
Building more roads as a means to combat forest fires fires is counter productive. Forest roads are associated with higher risk of forest fires - fires associated with human activity. Wild land fire fighters themselves indicate that more roads will not improve their ability to fight forest fires.
Roadless areas are perhaps the most important areas for the production of clean drinking water. Forest Roads degrade water quality through erosion, run-off and sedimentation of streams.
Forest Roads degrade the quality of habitat for wildlife- fish, birds, reptiles, amphibians, mammals, as well as a plethora of invertebrates that support these vertebrates. Human life depends upon functioning ecosystems, which in turn depend upon the living web of interactions that takes place among the greatest possible diversity of living creatures. Decrease diversity and the whole ecosystem becomes degraded, and thus less functional for human survival.
But let us not think only of humans. All living creatures have a right to exist. They are not inferior to human life. They are contiguous with it.
Each species is an expression of Earth’s creativity and beauty, and through the web of interactions contributes to the health of all life on Earth.
Forest roads are a major conduit for the introduction of invasive species into areas where they are not yet present. More roads equals more ecosystem degradation due to the an increase in invasive species.
Let us be clear, the real reason for removing the Roadless Rule is to facilitate increased resource extraction. We are living in an age when all life on earth is threatened by climate disruption. Our best course of action is to protect the few intact and healthy functioning ecosystems we have left. It is clear that more road building is not only not necessary, but in fact profoundly counter to this objective. Roadless intact forests protect our precious water, sequester carbon and thus help to mitigate global warming.
Let me also be clear about this. I like to go into the forest. We could remove half the forest roads we already have with no detriment to citizen forest access.I often go into the Mount Baker National Forest. Many of the roads are in very bad condition. Let us give some attention to maintain some of the roads already in place.
I strongly urge the Forest Service to maintain the Roadless Rule. Please do not, for the health and well being of humans and all living things, build more unneeded roads.
Thank you very much for considering my comments.