I am a lifelong (74 years) resident of Wyoming. A large part of why I have remained in Wyoming despite abundant career opportunities elsewhere is because of our wide-open landscape and abundance of untrammeled areas. These areas have provided me and my family opportunities to hike, backpack, hunt, fish, and boat in areas as close to their natural state as modern society allows. And I can attest through travels on multiple continents that the roadless areas we have preserved in the American West are not just a national treasure, but an international one as well. I grew up adjacent to the Shoshone National Forest and have lived much of my adult life adjacent to the Medicine Bow National Forest. Both have struggled with finding a balance between development and road-based recreation on one hand, and the incomparable and, importantly, unrecoverable value of leaving the land in its natural state.
Roadless areas specifically are critical to preserving our remaining expanses of natural lands.
Despite the best intentions of all participants, the existence of roads promotes road-based recreation and other developments that are simply incompatible with full-fledged conservation. Not only do our roadless areas provide precious, undeveloped recreation opportunities, but they also help to preserve the integrity of watersheds, aquifer recharge areas, and, of course, wildlife habitat. By limiting human intrusion and the associated equipment and material, roadless status obviously reduce the probabilities of human-caused fires.
Our Forest Service is much better advised to direct its attention to the maintenance of our existing under-resourced trail systems and trailhead facilities, than to create additional, expensive maintenance obligations by extending roads into presently roadless areas.
Over my life, I have been extensively involved with groups living, working, and recreating across Wyoming's public lands. And even my motor-sports oriented friends recognize the value of not opening the entire landscape to motorized recreation. There comes a point where it is a relief to park the truck or 4-wheeler, shut of the engine, and proceed on foot into the quiet solace of the natural landscape. Please retain the present Roadless Rule to preserve that precious option for our own and future generations.
There is certainly no "problem" here that requires a change in Forest Service policy.
Thank you for the opportunity to comment,
Bern Hinckley
Laramie, Wyoming