FS-2025-0001-609580

Dear Secretary Rollins and Chief Schultz: Growing up in the southern Appalachian Mountains, my choice in career, hobbies, and the life I live were all shaped by the public lands of the region. Now as an ecologist, outdoorsman, and conservationist I have come to understand the importance of unfragmented, intact landscapes. Over the years, my research on reptile and amphibian ecology has taken me to many conservation areas across the southeast, but wilderness areas have been the most impactful. By studying species composition and ecology, I have seen first-hand how these intact landscapes have higher quality habitat and support higher biodiversity, than many other conservation lands, and this is largely in part to a lack of roads and the habitat disturbance that road access allows. The loss of these roadless areas in the southern Appalachians will have a cascading effect on the biodiversity and ecological functionality of not only the tracts themselves, but also the landscapes downstream of them. The development of new roads quickly impacts water quality and stream ecosystems via erosion, siltation, pollution, etc. These impacts will be continuous, not just felt during the construction phase, and will reach miles and miles downstream. Even for small species, habitat fragmentation via roadways is a serious problem that can drive local extinctions. The southern Appalachian Mountains are often referred to as the salamander capital of the world, as the diversity and abundance of this region is unparalleled. However, many studies have also shown that amphibians can be incredibly susceptible to road mortality, and some amphibian populations can lose as much as 10% of individuals to vehicle traffic every year (Carr and Fahrig 2002, Glista et al. 2007, Hels and Buchwald 2001). Roadways can also inhibit movement or cause genetic isolation leading to population fragmentation or declines (deMaynadier and Hunter 2000, Rodriguez et al. 1996). The construction of roads across landscapes with streams often involves the use of culverts which can present serious barriers to aquatic species such as fish, turtles, and aquatic salamanders. The habitat fragmentation posed to aquatic species by culverts beneath roads can be comparable to that of large dams (Lehrter et al. 2024; Sliger et al. 2026), and these barriers may force semi-aquatic species of reptiles and amphibians to cross roadways and increase mortality. Over the years I have had the pleasure of working in many of these beautiful biodiverse places, such as studying Timber Rattlesnakes in the Ellicott Rock Wilderness Area, or conducting salamander surveys and wildlife inventories in the Southern Nantahala Wilderness, Middle Prong, and Shining Rock Wilderness. These places have left a major impression on me and I find myself coming back to these places year after year to go backpacking, photograph wildlife, and to snorkel their pristine rivers for a chance to see Eastern Hellbenders and the incredible fish diversity of the southern Appalachians. And it has been these experiences that have encouraged me to seek out other wilderness areas in the western US, such as the Glacier Peak Wilderness in Washington and the Rincon Mountain Wilderness, Miller Peak Wilderness, and Chiricahua Wilderness in Arizona. Every vacation I take into these amazing places reinforces the value they have to not only our native wildlife and water, but also the American people. They give us a place to experience this nation as it once was, and allows us to understand just how special our natural heritage is. There is so much at stake here, and I fear the rescinding of the Roadless Rule with permanently spoil what so many Americans not only cherish, but depend on for recreation, renewal, and clean drinking water. No one who truly cares about this land wants this. The American people have spoken. Leave the protections in place.