A longtime FSEEE supporter recently confided to me that the countless assaults on our public lands and endless stories of environmental degradation were getting to him. He asked for a reason to hope.
The truth is, I do feel hopeful. There is a clear and prolonged arc of growing support for protecting our public lands. The Roadless Rule illustrates this groundswell. Since its inception in 2001, the rule has received 95-99% support from public commenters at every stage of the rulemaking process — including more than 1.6 million comments during the original rulemaking. That level of consensus is almost unheard of in the history of federal regulation.
Americans’ eloquent comments in support of the Roadless Rule reflect the breadth and depth of their love for the wilder parts of our national forests. Whenever I need inspiration, I pull up comments from the public record. Here are some examples:
The natural barriers that the land presents to those who would enjoy them are their greatest blessing and benefit…. The heart-to-heart talks I enjoyed with my son, cuddling up together in our sleeping bags, are a priceless treasure. Where else but in the wilderness could I tell my son that even though I would not always be with him in life, these times we shared would be? (Individual, Roseville, Minnesota)
The roadless areas in our national forests have values beyond the board feet that can be hauled from them. These are places of immense biological importance for maintaining genetic diversity, these are areas that allow for recreation that cannot be found in more developed areas…. These are the areas that lift our spirits, test our bodies, renew our sanity and allow for encounters with creatures that do not live in our crowded neighborhoods.
(Individual, Bound Brook, New Jersey)
In Montana we love to hunt wild game. I can tell you from experience where the elk, bighorn, deer, grouse, and all other variety of wildlife like to hang out … Roadless Lands of the National Forests…. They are serving the greatest good for the greatest number just as they are — by being in their wild state as a part of our health, good fortune, and heritage. (Individual, Harrison, Montana)
Our nation must work to maintain the value that is held in the simple knowledge that lands still exist free of human interference.
(Individual, Dallas, Texas)
The ultimate consideration, to me, is the fact that no matter what values you associate with a roadless area, once a road incurs upon that area, the values are lost forever. (Individual, Lewiston, Idaho)
Our present attitude of disregarding everything and anything of non-monetary value is getting completely out of hand. Please, let’s keep something! (Individual, Bronx, New York)
True conservatives value stewardship and saving for the future. Since the days of Theodore Roosevelt, true conservatives have supported protection of our beautiful natural heritage for future generations…. If we lose our last wild places to bulldozers, they will be lost for good. (Individual, San Diego, California)
Spiritual values are present in the forest for both Native Americans and others. As a mainly urban society, cut off from our root connections to nature, these forests will serve to renew our spirits. (Organization, Cookeville, Tennessee)
Forests serve as a place of respite from the grinding capitalism that surrounds us every day…. These forests are a huge chunk of my delight in living, my favorite places to walk and just to be. (Individual, Cambridge, Massachusetts)
Quiet. Something so rare that finding it in a wild area is even surprising. Quiet is not soundless but includes the sound of falling water, singing and twittering birds, the rustle of trouser legs and boots on bushes, but it ends with the racket of gunned engines and the clank of machinery. (Individual, Big Fork, Montana)
I am too old to be concerned about the welfare of our roadless areas —wilderness —for my own use or benefit, but I adamantly support the right of future generations to have that privilege. (Individual, Willmar, Minnesota)
Roadlessness is a value in itself that should be conserved. Administrative costs for roadless areas will be lower than on more intensively-managed lands. (Individual, Lexington, Virginia)
Let’s keep the wild outdoors, God’s great outdoors and leave things the way that God meant for it to be — wild!! (Individual, Lineville, Alabama)
Through four decades, over 250,000 Outward Bound students have experienced the challenge, risk and adventure of a wilderness education course in the American backcountry…. Proper protection of our remaining roadless areas will enable future generations of young Americans share in the experience. (Permit Holder, Golden, Colorado)
There are few places left in this country where a person may go and listen to the Earth’s voice — to be able to stand on the edge of a ridgetop and see nothing of man. I have, as a child, been to places like that. Many of those areas are now resorts, housing developments, or cities.… When you cut the foundation out from under something, it weakens it. Nature is our foundation, and in all times past, our strength. (Individual, Houston, Texas)
We treasure roadless areas for their intrinsic natural value and as a wild legacy to pass on to future generations. Our values share a common thread: they derive from public lands remaining intact rather than being exploited.
Sadly, some do not share these values. The effort to rescind the Roadless Rule is a prime example that betrays the American public’s clear and enduring will. Yet FSEEE remains unbowed. We will stand for the Roadless Rule and empower our supporters to do the same.
I’m confident that the outpouring of support for public lands will ultimately protect our wild heritage. Public lands enrich us all — and that shared legacy brings us together, providing a wellspring of hope that will never run dry.
Kevin Hood
Photo caption: The San Isabel National Forest Aspen Ridge Roadless Area provides this view of roadless areas along the Continental Divide.
