Hello,
While the benefits I feel are personal as I enjoy being able to visit and hike through California's natural forests and landmarks, I am also opposed to the rescinding of the Roadless Rules/Roadless Areas Conservation for the additional following reasons:
While Roadless Areas only comprise 20% of California’s national forests, their benefits are varied and vast, including:
Roadless Areas protect drinking water supplies and water sources for agriculture.
Roadless areas supply 50% of California’s drinking water.
Roadless Areas act as fire buffers for communities and land managers since roadless areas experience far fewer human-caused fire starts than do areas with roads
Roadless Areas support the military in many areas of California by helping to maintain large, undeveloped areas of land to conduct training and operations and/or serve as a crucial buffer against urbanization and other forms of outside influences that inhibit capacity for training and testing activities.
Contrary to assertions by the USDA, the 2001 Roadless Rule does not do any of the following:
The Roadless Rule does not impede national forest planning at the local level. Rather, the Roadless Rule is one of many overarching rules that guide local national forest staff.
The Roadless Rule does not harm local economies. In fact, the Roadless Rule keeps drinking water clean for rural and urban communities alike here in California, thereby helping decrease cost on water. Water for agriculture and domestic use and public land related visitation and tourism benefit rural communities thanks in part to the lands covered by the Roadless Rule.
The Roadless Rule does not impede fire suppression. To the contrary, the Forest Service is allowed to use all tools available for firefighting in roadless areas, including bulldozers and aircraft. Fire suppression of active wildfires in roadless areas in California’s national forests is not uncommon.
The Roadless Rule does not impede fire risk reduction. Actually, California national forests such as the Los Padres National Forest and Tahoe National Forest conduct fuel management projects in roadless areas while adhering to the Roadless Rule. Existing roads on the boundaries of roadless areas provide adequate access for fire risk reduction.
The current proposal would allow new road construction and the logging of our largest trees in roadless areas, despite the increased fire risk and the fact that the U.S. Forest Service cannot currently afford to maintain its existing 47,000 miles of roads in California.