Dear USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins and Forest Service Chief Tom Schultz,
I am writing today in opposition to rescinding or altering the Roadless Area Conservation Rule as an Oregon Certified Naturalist, since my retirement in 2012, a birder and teacher of the young people in my family for three generations.
I have been volunteering in nature research studies and environmental education, working with State Parks, National Parks Service, Bird Alliance of Oregon and others to understand the forests and the many species there which I have enjoyed all of my life in Oregon and to teach others how to appreciate and protect our unique wild lands which are so important to us. I have shared the wonders of these areas with my own family as well as many other young people, in Outdoor School and other public education programs, adding to their enjoyment of growing up in Oregon and contributing to their understanding of the unique place we live, particularly in the Inventoried Roadless Areas around Mt. Hood in the Mt. Hood National Forest and those in the Gifford Pinchot National Forest.
Inventoried Roadless Areas offer tremendous benefits to communities and ecosystems that would be threatened or destroyed by road building. Here are just a couple of examples I have witnessed personally of the benefits of retaining the Roadless Rule.
Wildlife habitat: imperiled species like Northern Spotted Owls, Marbled Murrelets, and countless other birds rely on large, intact forests with undammed, unlogged streams and connected landscapes. Salmon, trout, elk, and other species are also threatened when habitat is fragmented. This became very clear to me when I participated with Bird alliance of Oregon in monitoring Marbled Murrelets in 2019, and could see how little nesting habitat is still accessible to them.
Drinking water: 60 million Americans rely on national forests for drinking water; intact forests filter water naturally. Many inventoried roadless areas are important parts of watersheds. I was fortunate in 2014 to join a tour group from the City of Portland’s Water Bureau to take a field trip to tour several parts of the Bull Run Water Shed to learn firsthand how this is possible and came to appreciate the role such places play in supplying some of the purest cleanest drinking water in the state.
Outdoor Recreation: Roadless areas offer abundant outdoor recreation opportunities such as hunting, fishing, camping and other activities. Every year, millions of people take advantage of the free (or extremely affordable) access to these public lands, and roadless areas contribute millions of dollars to local economies through the recreation industry. My family and friends have spent most of our vacations throughout our lives camping and hiking together in these places in Oregon, across the state. As a volunteer I always meet folks when I am conducting my wildlife surveys, who are happy to share that they love about who are happy to share how much they enjoy their time in these wild places, and how important it is to them.
I urge you to keep the Roadless Rule in place as it is.
Thank you for your attention to my request.
Donna Acord