FS-2025-0001-603734

To the U.S. Forest Service (and federal government at large). I am writing to express my ardent opposition to the proposed rescission of the 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule. As someone who values our public lands and domestic natural resources, rescinding this rule is a neither a path to conservation nor economic growth. 2% of our land is roadless under the current rule allowing the vast majority to be available for resource extraction, development and industry. The value of keeping this 2% largely inaccessible outweighs the prospect of road access economically and helps preserve the last untouched areas in the US. The Tongass National Forest alone generates over $10 billion in fishing and tourism [1,2]. Disrupting the resource flow and natural beauty of the Tongass via road development and associated activities would negatively impact these industries. This doesn’t account for the biological importance of these areas. The Tongass hosts most Alaska’s birds and provides a crucial stop and breeding grounds along the pacific flyway. Disrupting these forests affects not only on local hunters and wildlife who rely on these birds but an entire Pacific flyway and outdoor industry. This is just one example for one area and there are countless others. The roadless rule protects a variety of critical habitat and species from unintentional damage caused by vehicles and the resulting increased human activity [3]. We do not and will never fully understand these species and habitats or the possible consequences of opening these areas to roads. Denali National Park only has one road and is incredibly remote, yet the tour bus traffic is halted at times during the day to allow the Dall sheep to cross. This was instated after park rangers realized the sheep were expending more energy rushing to cross in a panic which would make them more susceptible to predators and disease. In this case rangers were able to find out before cascading consequences, but this is not always the case with more vulnerable species. The notion that rescinding the roadless rule will prevent forest fires is unfounded. Fires normally start near roads [4]. Forest service resources should be devoted to controlled burns and management of areas with roads and allowing natural fires to reset the suppressed clock in roadless uninhabited ones. This is the only way to break out of the feedback loop caused by a century of suppression. I had the pleasure of experiencing the majesty of the Tongass and the inside passage it populates. It is the most remarkable place I have ever witnessed and has captured the hearts of millions of others. A world without these beautiful wild places is not one worth living and a country that doesn’t cherish these places is not one that can survive. The US’s core draw has always been the frontier: a place to explore and thrive. This myth has created the country we love today and if we lose the places that evoked it, we will surely lose the self-reliance, determination and ingenuity that made us the greatest nation. Ultimately, our national forests should be treated not like the stock market but like gold. The market can go up and down, but gold is gold, there is a finite amount its true value is in its guarantee and stability, if you sell it there’s no promise you can get it back. Our roadless areas act in the same way by offering stable natural ecosystems sheltered from our faulted policies. These areas have the chance to preserve what cannot be recovered elsewhere. If we open them to roads that preservation guarantee fades away and we have no areas to recover lost biodiversity. Therefore, I urge the Forest Service to learn from the Federal Reserve’s mistakes and maintain an ecological gold standard while bolstering our local and national economies by maintaining the 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule. 1.Alaska Travel Industry Association report Alaska Travel Industry Association. 2024–2025 Annual Report. 2025, https://www.alaskatia.org/sites/default/files/2026-02/24-25%20Annual%20Report.pdf. 2.Alaska seafood economic impact report McKinley Research Group. The Economic Value of Alaska’s Seafood Industry. Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute, Apr. 2024, https://www.alaskaseafood.org/industry/economic-harvest-data/economic-impact/. 3.Center for Biological Diversity report Spivak, Randi. Deadly Incursions: The Roadless Rule Protects Millions of Acres and America’s Rarest Animals. Trump Wants to Kill It. Center for Biological Diversity, Aug. 2026. https://www.biologicaldiversity.org/publications/papers/. 3.Fire Ecology journal article Aplet, Gregory H., Phil Hartger, and Matthew S. Dietz. “Three-Decade Record of Contiguous-U.S. National Forest Wildfires Indicates Increased Density of Ignitions near Roads.” Fire Ecology, vol. 22, 2026, article 8. https://doi.org/10.1186/s42408-026-00450-2.