I am writing in favor of the Roadless Area Conservation Rule (the "Roadless Rule") because it protects wildlife habitat, watersheds, as well as recreational areas and outdoor economies. Within the 45 million acres of forest under the U.S. Forest Service’s jurisdiction, the Roadless Rule covers some of the country's most important natural resources. The benefits are myriad - Native cultures depend on it, it helps safeguard drinking water for 25 million people, it prohibits roads that are proven to yield more wildfires, and more.
If the Roadless Rule is rescinded, it would strip 9 million acres of southeast Alaska’s Tongass National Forest, the largest national forest at 17 million acres, in the United States, of its protections. These wonders drew more than 3 million visitors from around the nation and the world to Alaska from May 2024 through April 2025 — a record. My family was one of them. We chartered a private charter and it was unbelievably memorable. In fact, we were among many as in 2023, tourism became the largest economic sector in Southeast Alaska. For a place already facing various threats, it pains us to think that federal protections would be stripped. In addition to helping to protect the climate with the massive amount of carbon sequestered in its trees (20% of all carbon in the entire national forest system!), much of the Tongass is still largely intact, protecting wild salmon and all the animals that feast on them.
I recently learned that our summer home located near a national forest - Hiawatha National Forest - benefits from the Roadless Rule. Many of our family and friends recreate and cherish this outdoor area.
This is a public law that affects every U.S. citizen and so I feel compelled to speak out. Given other opportunities for public opinion, it is overwhelmingly clear that the public is in favor of it and its protections. Nor should U.S. taxpayers heavily subsidize industrial scale clear-cut logging in these precious spaces, as it does not and has never made economic sense.