FS-2025-0001-589076

Dear Special Areas: Roadless Area Conservation, se01nsnn se01nsnn , I believe we need to save space for these wild places that our nation has historically and environmentally protected. Rescinding the Roadless Rule will open a floodgate of destruction equipment and vehicle intrusion. With an influx of intruders and open access, once it does open it will be impossible to turn it back. I do not support rescinding the 2001 Roadless Rule in our National Forest lands. As a volunteer in the National Parks and forests of our nation I wear three hats. I am a trail keeper with the Mountain to Sea Trail which is a NC State Park. I have woven a foot trail through mature forests and guided construction around trees and natural terrain with concern for every foot of transgression into the wilderness the trail will make. My guiding principals are step lightly, leave no trace, respect the trees. Road construction does not follow these principles. I am a National Parks volunteer and witness the abundance of people seeking well being in the forests and trails of our parks. I see citizens discovering and exploring the wonders of nature in beautiful settings with mature forests full of trees and in remote areas devoid of traffic and deconstruction. All citizens benefit when we secure our natural resources and habitats from exploitation and profit seeking corporations. Rescinding the Roadless Rule in our parks will diminish that experience. I am a Sierra Club outings leader. I take people on trail walks to explore and discover together in the safety of preserved forests and to celebrate the beautiful oaks, birches, locust and evergreens of our woodlands. Trails make connections. Connections lead to appreciation and appreciation leads to conservation and protection. Once you make a connection with the grandeur of the trees in our forest all elements of deconstruction become a threat to the survival of our healthy National Forests and Parks. There is no quiet appreciation to be found in road construction. As Mary Oliver wrote: When I am among the trees, especially the willows and the honey locust, equally the beech, the oaks and the pines, they give off such hints of gladness. I would almost say that they save me, and daily. I am so distant from the hope of myself, in which I have goodness, and discernment, and never hurry through the world but walk slowly, and bow often. Around me the trees stir in their leaves and call out, “Stay awhile.” The light flows from their branches. And they call again, “It's simple,” they say, “and you too have come into the world to do this, to go easy, to be filled with light, and to shine.” I speak for the trees. I speak for our forest needs. I am opposed the rescinding the Roadless Rules Act of 2001 Shelton Wilder Shelton Wilder 608 Dick Watson Road Deep Gap, NC 28618 Sincerely, Shelton Wilder