1. United States
2. Texas
3. Letter

Our public lands are not disposable. They belong to the American people, and Congress has a responsibility to protect them—not allow them to be opened to unnecessary roads, logging, and industrial development. I strongly oppose the Forest Service’s proposal to rescind the 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule, which currently protects approximately 59 million acres of undeveloped national forest lands. I am asking you to take specific congressional action: -Publicly oppose the Forest Service’s proposal to rescind the Roadless Rule. -Use the congressional appropriations process to prevent federal funds from being used to eliminate or undermine these protections. -Support and introduce legislation that permanently protects inventoried roadless public lands from unnecessary road construction, logging, mining, and other industrial development. -Hold congressional hearings and demand accountability from the Forest Service regarding the environmental and financial consequences of opening these lands to development. -Defend these lands for the American people and future generations—not special interests seeking short-term access to them. These forests are some of the finest public lands our country has left. They provide clean water, wildlife habitat, healthy rivers and streams, outstanding recreation, and places where Americans can still experience nature without roads and industrial development. Once roads and development fragment these wild places, we cannot simply put them back. Future generations deserve the same opportunity we have today to experience truly wild forests. Congress should not wait until these places are damaged to act. I am pleading with you to please fight for our public lands now. Stand up to the Forest Service’s proposal. Protect the Roadless Rule. Keep our public lands public. Keep wild places wild. Make sure these irreplaceable lands remain protected for us, our children, and generations of Americans yet to come. Thank you for your support in this matter.