Dear Secretary:
I'm writing as an American with a strong belief in public lands.
Regarding the South Mills River in the Pisgah National Forest, North Carolina:
Headwater Protection for Aquatic Species Dependent on Cold, Clean Water — The South Fork Mills River originates within this roadless area and flows through multiple tributary systems—Bradley Creek, Cantrell Creek, and Clawhammer Creek—that collectively form a Priority Watershed designated by the U.S. Forest Service for restoration and protection. The Eastern Hellbender, a proposed federally endangered salamander, depends on the undisturbed streambeds and cold water temperatures maintained by the intact forest canopy in this area. Road construction would remove streamside vegetation, allowing solar radiation to warm water and destabilize banks, directly degrading the specific habitat conditions this species requires to survive.
Salmonid embryo survival. Fine sediment in spawning gravel reduces salmonid egg survival. In studied Pacific Northwest streams, when fine sediment exceeded 13% of redd composition, no steelhead or coho salmon eggs survived. Chinook salmon are the most susceptible to sediment loading, followed by coho, steelhead, and cutthroat trout (McHenry et al. 1994; Lotspeich & Everest 1983; EPA 2005). — U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, UNKN (https://www.epa.gov/sites/default/files/2015-10/documents/ch3c.pdf); U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 2005 (https://www.epa.gov/sites/default/files/2015-10/documents/ch3c.pdf)
Rescinding the Roadless Rule would open the South Mills River, Pisgah National Forest to road construction and associated ground disturbance. The direct and indirect effects of that activity are precisely what makes a specific comment about this area necessary.
Roadlesso wilderness is a rare thing in this world and we can't get it back once it's gone.
The Roadless Rule stays on the books. That's my position.
Hopefully,