“AGAINST a Cart-Blanc rescinding of the 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule”
“formulated over numerous years of discussion and hundreds of public meeting”
The comment
FS-2025-0001-223869
Special Areas: Roadless Area Conservation
I live in Salt Lake City, Utah. I often recreate on public land in Utah, Idaho, and Nevada. And very much appreciate these Public Lands. And the U.S. Forest Service personnel that are
responsible for stewarding the Multiple-Use Sustained-Yield Act of 1960. That said, there are some reasonable arguments that can be made to review the 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule, and how it is applied. However, Spencer Cox, the governor of Utah, (the state in which I reside), has already said "Utahns love our forests, and loving these places means taking care of them.” He went on to say, "the Roadless Rule has tied the hands of local land managers with a one-size-fits-all federal policy." Unfortunately, the Governor used the phrase "Utahns love our forests", which implies that the federal forest lands in Utah are "our forests." These forests belong to all inhabitants of the UNITED STATES of AMERICA. I capitalized this to emphasis that public lands SHOULD be managed in a coordinated way that promulgates the will of all Americans. Individual state
management can easily be influenced by the will of local politics. And bent to serve the will of local politicians and influential campaign donors. This often trends counter to what a significant percentage of the people of the U.S.A. deem to be productive.
For these reasons, I am AGAINST a Cart-Blanc rescinding of the 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule. A rule that was formulated over numerous years of discussion and hundreds of public meeting. Overall, the current Administration has shown a negative bias toward environmental protections. And any broad based discussions that would favor global and local actions to slow down the harmful impacts of human activities.