Re: Rescission of the Roadless Area Conservation Rule, Docket FS-2025-0001
I have hiked and boated throughout my life in the Chattahoochee National Forest. I value these areas as places to show my children and grandchildren what untouched wild areas can look like. This area houses some of the only remaining wildlife corridors left in Georgia, and this is of great value to me as a taxpayer. Roads in those places would be a desecration, not to mention wholly unnecessary from a financial standpoint and of no public benefit.
It is fiscally irresponsible to create new roads when we already carry a $6.9 billion backlog on the roads we have. The agency should make public the funding source for any new road construction and maintenance under this proposal, and project how the backlog will grow if this rescission moves forward.
These roadless areas also protect critical watersheds that supply clean drinking water. Adding roads to these spaces will only further imperil our rights to clean drinking water. The public should be informed of what watershed conditions and sediment loads will look like in the Chattahoochee's roadless watersheds if the rule is rescinded.
Sincerely,
Claude Burnett
Athens, Georgia