1. United States
2. Mo.
3. Letter

You may know that the USDA rescinded the 2001 Roadless Rule without any Tribal consultation, in violation of the Constitution -- which REQUIRES the U.S. federal government to honor Tribal sovereignty and engage in Nation-to-Nation relationships with Tribes. LISTEN to Tribal Nations and enshrine the 2001 Roadless Rule into law by co-sponsoring the Roadless Area Conservation Act of 2025. The Tlingit & Haida Tribes of Alaska wrote: “The Tongass [National Forest] is more than an ecosystem -- it is our home. It is the foundation of our identity, our culture, and our way of life.” They called on the USDA to “suspend this decision until meaningful consultation is held with tribal nations, as required under federal law and trust obligations.” Building roads and logging these forests will destroy ancestral Native homelands, which are central to spirituality and survival for many Tribes. For example, Joel Jackson, the President of the Organized Village of Kake, said: “The remaining old growth timber is so important for providing shelter, the berries, and our medicines. It provides shade for our streams to keep them cool so our salmon can return year after year. We are the people of the forest and salmon people. Salmon has sustained us for thousands of years.” His Tribe also hunts deer and moose, which are rebounding after past clear-cut logging. DEFEND the 2001 Roadless Rule, including by enshrining it into law with the Roadless Area Conservation Act of 2025.