I urge the US Forest Service and the US Department of Agriculture to KEEP the 2001 Roadless Rule.
For the first time in my life, I took a road trip across the entire lower 48 of the United States this last summer. We hiked and camped in many marvelous and priceless wilderness areas, such as the Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness in Custer Gallatin National Forest (Montana). The ecosystems and landscapes protected by the Roadless Rule are absolutely irreplaceable.
The beauty and vastness of these protected forests are what truly makes America great. We must protect them for future generations from large-scale logging, road construction, and other development that will industrialize our national forests. The Roadless Rule has protected irreplaceable roadless values while permitting fire suppression, fuels mitigation work, trail maintenance, and other forest management activities for the past 25 years. It is a fiscally responsible, environmentally sound, multiple-use management tool.
I implore you NOT to rescind the Roadless Rule.
Patrick Erben, Carrollton, Georgia