Dear Chief:
I was lucky enough to be introduced to the forests and wild places in this country before I was even a year old. My parents made sure I understood the value of roadless public land, and that value is something that needs to remain for generations to come.
I make it a point to travel to the White Mountain National Forest at least once a year. No matter where else I go in the country, or the world, the White Mountains are the place I'm always drawn back to. The abundance in the forest is unparalleled, and there are so many lessons to be learned there. It's where I go to find peace, to get away from the stressors of daily life, to breathe fresh air and drink the cleanest water, to see sights that can't be matched.
Last week I was in the White Mountains for my annual camping trip, and there was a day where we spent over ten hours in the woods. We didn't see another person, or hear a single car. The only sounds we heard were from nature - the rushing water of the brook, the Gray Jays chirping in the trees, the wind blowing through the leaves just hitting their peak autumn colors. For someone who lives in a crowded suburb, being able to get away and immerse myself in the woods, away from roads, is essential.
If this rule is rescinded, I (and so many others) will lose my favorite place in the world. Seeing roads rip across the forests, the clear waters polluted, the animals killed or pushed out of their homes, the invasive plants taking over the abundant native forests, would be absolutely devastating. I would not be able to go back to the area because it would be ruined. That means no more hiking, no more camping, no more fly fishing, no more photography. Roads would eradicate what makes this place special.
Regarding the Presidential - Dry River Ext in the White Mountain National Forest, New Hampshire:
Invasive Species Establishment and Spread via Disturbed Road Corridor — Road construction creates a linear disturbance corridor of exposed soil, compacted ground, and altered hydrology—ideal conditions for invasive plants and forest pests to establish and spread into the interior. The documented threats of hemlock woolly adelgid and emerald ash borer, combined with terrestrial invasive species currently limited to hiking trails, would gain a high-speed dispersal pathway along the road. Eastern hemlock (near threatened, IUCN) and white ash (critically endangered, IUCN)—both present in this area—are particularly vulnerable to these pests; a road would accelerate their decline and eliminate the genetic diversity and structural complexity these species currently provide to the forest. Rare alpine plants like New England blazing star and white bog orchid, adapted to specific soil and hydrological conditions, would be outcompeted by invasive species that thrive in disturbed, nutrient-enriched road margins.
When road construction degrades fishing quality in the Presidential - Dry River Ext IRA, the economic losses are direct and measurable. Visitors who chose this area for its roadless character take their spending elsewhere. Guide and outfitter operations that depend on backcountry conditions lose clients. Local businesses that serve fishing visitors lose revenue. These losses are a quantifiable cost of road construction that the agency must account for.
The DEIS must calculate the dollar value of fishing-related economic activity in and around the Presidential - Dry River Ext IRA, White Mountain National Forest, and project the losses road construction causes. This includes direct visitor spending, supported employment in guide and outfitter services, and multiplier effects in the local economy. These figures are quantifiable, and the agency is obligated to quantify them.
"In a systematic review of 274 articles on the effects of non-consumptive recreation on animals, over 93% of reviewed articles documented at least one effect of recreation on animals, the majority of which (59%) were classified as negative effects. Recreation is a leading factor in endangerment of plant and animal species on United States federal lands and is listed as a threat to 188 at-risk bird species globally. Motorized activities often cover larger spatial extents than non-motorized activities, and motorized vehicles can also cause soil loss and vegetation disturbance."
— PLOS ONE, 2016
Keep the Rule. Reject the rescission. That's my comment.
In earnest,
CommentID: RLC-20261007-2I0OUI