I am writing to oppose the proposal to rescind the 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule.
Our roadless national forests are some of the last truly wild places left in this country. They are special because they have stayed undeveloped. Once roads are built, the land changes for good. Logging, mining, and heavy traffic follow, and the quiet, the clean water, and the wildlife habitat that make these places unique can’t be restored.
I have spent my own life exploring these lands, from Flathead National Forest to Big Bear to Shoshone and Gallatin to Shasta/trinity, etc. these are incredible places. Experiences there shaped who I am, and I want my children, grandchildren, and every future American to have the same chance to find them as I did.
These forests belong to all of us, not just to the present generation. Keeping them roadless is a promise to the people who come after us. I urge the Forest Service to keep the Roadless Rule in place and protect these lands as they are today.