My name is Christina and I live in Santa Barbara, CA with my 9 year old son. I'm raising him as a single mom. We treasure our time together hiking and running together in the Los Padres National Forest. We both are imploring you to KEEP the Roadless Rule!
The Roadless Rule has protected over 58 million acres of wild forests nationwide for more than 20 years, including nearly 9 million acres in California. These protections keep streams clean, safeguard wildlife habitat, and preserve access to unspoiled landscapes for hiking, fishing, and connection with nature.
Studies have shown that more roads near wilderness areas increase the number of wildfires. Please do NOT let it be rescinded! When I was growing up there was never a "wildfire season" and now the threat of wildfires are a definite concern. Some of the largest wildfires have happened in Santa Barbara County and one where I have vivid memories is of the Zaca Fire in 2007. It "burned for four months in the backcountry, scorched many of the 240,000 acres within its final perimeter for the first time in recorded history, and cost $120 million to contain." "(source: https://sbfiresafecouncil.org/fire-history-of-santa-barbara-county/) The air quality was so bad and I remember it being so hot and not being able to open windows with no a/c with the loud of whirr of helicopters and planes pretty much non-stop trying to contain it. Then in 2009 the Jesusita Fire, and in 2017 the Thomas Fire where I ended up voluntarily evacuating because my son was still so little and I didn't want him breathing in all the bad air. We were actually wearing N95 masks INSIDE my workplace at the University of California, Santa Barbara at the time because the air quality was so bad! Studies have shown that there are an increase in the start of these wildfires where there are roads. We have the Roadless Rule in place for a reason, let's not do anything do make the current global climate worse off than we are already. I want outdoor spaces I can show and share with my son, for him to have the love for nature and appreciation for spaces that I do. Spaces where he can go to clear his head and get away from the busyness of life. We all deserve to have spaces like that. Let's keep the Roadless Rule in place please, let's preserve and protect our natural resources. Thank you for reading and listening.