1. United States
2. N.C.
3. Letter

Oppose the USDA's proposal to rescind the 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule. This 25-year-old protection covers nearly 152,000 acres in the Pisgah and Nantahala national forests alone, and rolling it back would open those lands to road construction and logging that can cause permanent, irreversible damage. The Southern Environmental Law Center calls this proposal "misguided" and warns it will "do long-lasting harm to countless communities that depend on our national forests for tourism, recreation and clean drinking water." The Center for Biological Diversity describes it as "the largest evisceration of public lands in American history." That's not hyperbole — Western North Carolina has some of the highest concentrations of roadless areas in the country, and these landscapes anchor our outdoor recreation economy and protect our drinking water. When the USDA solicited public input last fall, roughly 99% of comments opposed rescission. That kind of consensus is rare. The public has spoken clearly. The comment period closes September 21. Make your opposition to this proposal known before that deadline, and push back hard against any effort to advance it further.