Having taught Environmental Science for several decades, I oppose the rollback of the Roadless Area Conservation Rule. For more than two decades, this rule has protected much of the wildness that remains in our national forests. The protections have been particularly vital in the Midwest, where less than 200,000 acres of roadless, untrammeled forest lands survived the widespread logging of the past two centuries.
From Wisconsin's Chequamegon-Nicolet to Michigan's Ottawa, Hiawatha, and Huron-Manistee, the Midwest’s national forests have important roadless areas that provide critical habitat for wildlife, clean our drinking water, store carbon, and offer refuge for people seeking quiet and beauty.
These roadless areas are also an enormous resource for the recreation economy in the Midwest.
I urge you to stop rolling back protections for our public lands and leave our last wild forests intact. Please keep the Roadless Rule in place.
Sincerely,
Dr. Brian Bodenbender
400 2nd Ave Holland, MI 49424-6575
bodenbender@hope.edu