Dear Secretary Rollins and Chief Schultz,
As an ecologist, outdoor enthusiast, and outdoor educator, I urge you to maintain the Roadless Area Conservation Rule. For more than 25 years, the Roadless Rule has protected some of our nation's wildest remaining national forestlands—nearly 45 million acres. These lands provide irreplaceable benefits to wildlife, communities, and the American public.
Roadless areas are vital wildlife habitat. They provide large, relatively undisturbed blocks of habitat and important connections between national parks, wilderness areas, and other protected lands. They are particularly important for species such as elk, mule deer, salmon, grizzly bears, and many imperiled plants and animals. Roads and clearcuts fragment habitat, disrupt wildlife movement, and increase human disturbance.
Roadless forests protect clean drinking water. National Forests contain the headwaters of many of our nation's rivers, and roadless areas occur within hundreds of municipal watersheds serving millions of Americans. Keeping these watersheds intact helps protect water quality, reduce erosion and sedimentation, and sustain healthy aquatic ecosystems.
The Roadless Rule does not prohibit responsible forest management. The Forest Service retains the ability to conduct targeted projects to reduce wildfire risk, protect public safety, and restore ecological health. Conservation and active management are not mutually exclusive.
These lands also provide exceptional opportunities for outdoor recreation and education. Hiking, camping, hunting, fishing, wildlife watching, and simply experiencing solitude in an undeveloped landscape are important benefits of our national forests. Roadless areas also support subsistence and cultural practices, including those of Indigenous communities.
Our national forests already contain an enormous road network that requires significant public resources to maintain. Preventing unnecessary new roads protects both ecological resources and taxpayer dollars.
Once roads and intensive development fragment an intact landscape, the loss is difficult and costly to reverse. The Roadless Rule gives us the opportunity to preserve these places while they remain intact.
As an ecologist, outdoor enthusiast, and outdoor educator, I respectfully urge you not to rescind or weaken the Roadless Area Conservation Rule. Please preserve these irreplaceable public lands for wildlife, clean water, recreation, and future generations.
Thank you for your consideration and stewardship of our nation's public lands.
Sincerely,
Monique Kolster
5195 Westridge Circle
Auburn, CA 95602
209-985-1206
mokolster@yahoo.com