I am writing in strong opposition to the proposed repeal of the Roadless Rule. I am a biologist who has dedicated my career to conserving threatened, endangered, and imperiled species, many of which are dependent upon healthy, intact forests. I am a member of many environmental organizations (e.g., the League of Conservation Voters, Center for Biological Diversity, Sierra Club, Earthjustice) because protecting the environment is important to me.
The Roadless Rule is one of the most important safeguards we have to protect our national forests from corporate development. In Florida, more than 50,000 acres in three national forests are included in the federal roadless-area inventory. My family and friends enjoy spending time in Apalachicola National Forest, Ocala National Forest, and Osceola National Forest. We use the forests for passive recreation, mainly camping and to observe wildlife. We do not want to see the forests degraded by additional logging and needless openings for disturbances.
There are already plenty of roads in Florida's forests, and national forests in general. Of the approximately 1.2 million acres of national forest land in Florida, about half - 500,000 to 600,000 acres - are already open to logging or timber harvest in some form. More than 500,000 acres of Florida's national forests are also wetlands. There is absolutely no need to open up more areas of forest to unnecessary roads - in Florida or anywhere else.
Roads affect much more land than the relatively small footprint they occupy. More roads can: fragment wildlife habitat and create new forest edges; increase unnecessary vehicle access and human disturbance in previously remote areas; alter natural drainage patterns; increase runoff, erosion, and impacts on water quality; provide pathways for invasive plants and other nonnative species to spread; disrupt wildlife movement and ecological connectivity. Florida’s continuing loss and fragmentation of wildlife habitat make remaining intact public lands increasingly important. There are 36 federally threatened or endangered animal species that live in Florida's national forests (Apalachicola, Ocala, and Osceola).
Rescinding the Roadless Rule would open the door to road-building, logging, and industrial development, jeopardizing our nation’s most treasured old-growth forests and threatening the health and safety of communities across the country. It would destroy and degrade important wildlife habitat, especially for forest-dependent species.
We cannot risk losing these protections. Help keep our forests, climate, and communities safe — do not repeal the Roadless Rule.
Thank you.