Dear Secretary Brooke L. Rollins,
Our public lands are a valuable asset to Asheville, all of Western Carolina, and our entire country. Roadless area allow the forest environment to flourish, making it safer for wildlife and reducing the trash tossed from cars and protecting against fires from inconsiderate campers.
Craggy Mountain is the first place we take visitors. The trail from Douglas Falls to the Pinnacle is a wonder. The pinnacle offers spectacular 360° views that are superb.
Please help protect the roadless areas!
Regarding the Craggy Mountain in the Pisgah National Forest, North Carolina:
Ground disturbance, sedimentation, and stream crossings in roadless areas degrade drinking-water supplies and aquatic habitat downstream.
Sediment generation. Forest roads generate substantially more sediment than undisturbed forest. A heavily used gravel road segment in the Pacific Northwest delivered roughly 130 times more sediment than an abandoned road, and paved segments yielded less than 1% of the sediment from gravel surfaces (Reid & Dunne 1984; Sugden & Woods 2007). — Reid & Dunne, 1984
Rescinding the Roadless Rule would open the Craggy Mountain, Pisgah National Forest to road construction and associated ground disturbance. The direct and indirect effects of that activity are precisely what makes a specific comment about this area necessary.
Our roadless areas are essential to clean water, healthy forests, and safe wildlife.
The roadless areas deserve protection. That's what the Rule gives them. Keep it.
Thank you,
Doug Barlow