“provided habitat for wildlife, both animal and plant”
“health of the forests, streams and rivers”
What it names
Roadless areas
Bald MountainCheoah BaldCraggy MountainDeep CreekWesser Bald
The comment
To the U.S. Forest Service:
I am writing to express my strong opposition to any efforts to rescind, weaken, or roll back the 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule. My family's history is rooted in Southern Appalachia. In fact, my father and grandfather were themselves road builders. They constructed farm to market roads linking remote communities throughout the mountains of Western North Carolina, but they also understood the value of leaving land undisturbed. They taught me to respect the old growth trees that still remained standing and to understand how the streams and wetlands we lived alongside provided habitat for wildlife, both animal and plant. Our own livelihood was interconnected with the health of the forests, streams and rivers.
As an avid hiker and advocate for preserving green spaces and protecting our nation's public lands, I rely heavily on the integrity and protection of our inventoried roadless areas. The lands I am most fearful of losing are in the Pisgah and Nantahala National Forests, vast areas of which were already hard hit with Hurricane Helen in 2024. These are fragile ecosystems, among the most ecologically diverse in the world, and they deserve our careful stewardship. They also are a major source of our region's prosperity through ecotourism, drawing visitors the world over to be awed by the beauty of these ancient mountain ranges. Craggy Mountain, Bearwallow, Balsam, Bald Mountain, Linville Gorge in Pisgah, Snowbird, Wesser Bald, Deep Creek, Cheoah Bald -- all these are peaks and wilderness areas that are landmarks to us here in the region and they hold sacred places in our family's stories. I urge the U.S. Forest Service and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to abandon the proposed rescission and instead maintain full protections for all currently designated inventoried roadless areas.
Thank you for the opportunity to provide public comment.
Sincerely,
Rebecca Caldwell
Retired Environmental Educator, The North Carolina Arboretum, and Board Member, Friends of the Jackson County Greenways