FS-2025-0001-599290

Dear Acting Director White: We are writing as members of the National Parks Conservation Association’s (NPCA) Midwest Regional Council to urge the U.S. Forest Service to keep the Roadless Rule in place to protect the water, air quality, climate resilience, and wildlife that sustain our national parks. For nearly a quarter century, the Roadless Rule has protected the integrity of key national park ecosystems while allowing appropriate timber management to reduce wildfire risk. Rescinding these protections would leave some of our last intact forests vulnerable to increased logging, mining, oil and gas development, and other harmful uses. In the Midwest, roadless areas are not abstract federal designations. These areas are upstream forests, watersheds, wildlife corridors, and recreation landscapes that support local economies and the national parks people travel from across the world to experience. The Council advises NPCA’s Midwest regional staff and includes business and community leaders committed to securing the future of our national parks. We work with communities and businesses to support national parks in Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin. Healthy national parks depend on healthy forests, clean waterways, and intact public lands beyond their boundaries, including many places protected by the Roadless Rule. More than 45 million acres of national forest lands are designated as roadless, and nearly 30% of those acres are within 30 miles of national park sites. Across the Midwest Region, the Roadless Rule protects public lands connected to national park landscapes, from Badlands National Park in South Dakota to the wild woods and waters near Voyageurs National Park in Minnesota and Apostle Islands National Lakeshore in Wisconsin. These protections include: Roadless areas in Superior National Forest that help sustain the biodiversity and clean water of Voyageurs National Park, Grand Portage National Monument, and the North Country Scenic Trail. The 5,951-acre Flynn Lake roadless area, 5,510-acre Tea Lake roadless area, and 6,161-acre Moose roadless area in Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest near Apostle Islands National Lakeshore, which support federally listed species, contain the Moose River headwaters, and offer outdoor recreation opportunities such as hunting, hiking, and paddling. More than 26,000 acres of roadless area in Buffalo Gap National Grassland along the borders of Badlands National Park, protecting important hydrological features that support biodiversity in this semi-arid region. If Roadless Rule protections are rescinded, these lands—and more than 45 million acres of public lands nationwide—could be opened to roadbuilding, large-scale logging, mining, and oil and gas development, putting nearby national parks, gateway communities, clean water, and wildlife at risk. As national park advocates and community leaders from across the region, we urge you to choose the No Action alternative and keep the Roadless Rule in place to protect roadless forests and the national park landscapes they sustain. Thank You, Nicole Barker LaPorte, IN Wendy Bennett Minneapolis, MN Donté Gibbs Peninsula, OH Peter Gove White Bear Lake, MN David Hackett Chicago, IL Jennifer Manville Traverse City, MI Laura Merriam Saint Paul, MN Neil Mortine Worthington, OH Kathleen Schneider Hart, MI Cheryl A. Schreier Custer, SD Dave Walter Edina, MN Michelle Wang Chicago, IL