Please purchase a Premium Subscription to continue reading.
To continue, please log in, or sign up for a new account.
We offer one free story view per month. If you register for an account, you will get two additional story views. After those three total views, we ask that you support us with a subscription.
A subscription to our digital content is so much more than just access to our valuable content. It means you’re helping to support a local community institution that has, from its very start, supported the betterment of our society. Thank you very much!
Please log in, or sign up for a new account to continue reading.
Thank you for visiting the Daily Journal. We hope that you continue to enjoy our free content.
Please log in, or sign up for a new account and purchase a Premium Subscription to continue reading.
Please purchase a Premium Subscription to continue reading.
Your current subscription does not provide access to this content.
Support the Peninsula’s only locally-owned newspaper. Subscribe!
Subscribing annually brings you big savings. We also offer monthly and weekly subscriptions.
Premium Subscription
As low as $8.25 per week
Premium Includes:
-- Access to the Daily Journal’s e-Edition: a digital replica of our daily newspaper including crossword puzzles, games, comics, classifieds and ads. You can download a digital replica of the Daily Journal for offline reading. You can also clip & download articles or images from the e-edition to share with others The most recent 90 issues are available at any given time.
-- Unlimited access to our award-winning online content
-- Commenting access on all stories as a valued member of the DJ community
-- NEW! Access to our online-only digital crossword puzzle. A new puzzle every day, seven days a week!
| Rate | Price | Duration |
|---|---|---|
| 1 Year | $99.00 | for 365 days |
| 1 Month | $20.00 | for 30 days |
| 1 Week | $8.25 | for 7 days |
Support the Peninsula’s only locally-owned newspaper. Subscribe!
Subscribing annually brings you big savings. We also offer monthly and weekly subscriptions.
DJ Basic Subscription
As low as $5 per month
Basic includes:
-- Unlimited access to our award-winning online content
-- Commenting access on all stories as a valued member of the DJ community
What you're missing -- Additional features available only with the Premium level:
-- Access to the Daily Journal’s e-Edition: a digital replica of our daily newspaper including crossword puzzles, games, comics, classifieds and ads. You can download a digital replica of the Daily Journal for offline reading. You can also clip & download articles or images from the e-edition to share with others The most recent 90 issues are available at any given time.
-- NEW! Access to our online-only digital crossword puzzle. A new puzzle every day, seven days a week!
All for as low as $8.25 per month.
| Rate | Price | Duration |
|---|---|---|
| 1 Year | $60.00 | for 365 days |
| 1 Month | $12.00 | for 30 days |
| 1 Week | $5.00 | for 7 days |
Editor,
For millions of outdoor enthusiasts across the United States, there’s nothing more rejuvenating than retreating to a pristine, remote wilderness. Among the best places to disconnect and recharge are the 58 million acres of undeveloped backcountry safeguarded by the 2001 Roadless Rule. Alarmingly, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which oversees the U.S. Forest Service lands, is planning to eliminate this crucial rule.
Abolishing the Roadless Rule would not only devastate cherished recreational areas but also endanger vital drinking water sources, threaten wildlife habitats and shift the financial burden to taxpayers. Furthermore, in a misguided effort to justify this move, the USDA overlooks a critical fact: Rescinding the rule would heighten the risk of devastating wildfires. The Wilderness Society has recently highlighted research that reveals wildfires were four times more likely to erupt in areas with roads than in untouched, roadless forests from 1992 to 2024. This likely influenced the decision of groups such as the Eco-Integrity Alliance, and the John Muir Project, which represent scientific and ecological aspects of fire management, to oppose repealing the Rule.
A public comment period is open until Sept. 19, allowing every American to express their concerns about this reckless action by the Trump administration. Comments can be submitted directly to the Federal eRulemaking Portal at the Federal Register. An alternative option is to go on to existing letters from groups like Backcountry Hunters & Anglers and Environment America. Our voices matter, so let’s use them now before it’s too late.
Susan Lessin
Foster City
Please purchase a Premium Subscription to continue reading.
To continue, please log in, or sign up for a new account.
We offer one free story view per month. If you register for an account, you will get two additional story views. After those three total views, we ask that you support us with a subscription.
A subscription to our digital content is so much more than just access to our valuable content. It means you’re helping to support a local community institution that has, from its very start, supported the betterment of our society. Thank you very much!
Only subscribers can view and post comments on articles.
Already a subscriber? Login Here
(1) comment
Thanks for your letter, Ms. Lessin, but can you tell me whether abolishing the 2001 Roadless Rule will truly result in endangering vital drinking water sources and threatening wildlife habitats? Or is this just fear mongering about what could occur? After all, the Yellowstone supervolcano eruption could occur, but will it? As for shifting the financial burden to taxpayers, are you sure? Aren’t some of these Forest Service lands going to support money-making activities via contracts with logging and mining companies? If so, seems to me that there will be no financial burden to taxpayers and if anything, will benefit taxpayers. Not only that, there are plenty of places in our National Parks and other designated National Monuments that outdoor enthusiasts can enjoy. Look at the size of Yellowstone and Glacier National Parks. Are you telling me there are no pristine, remote wilderness areas in them? I'd say go forward and abolish the Roadless Rule.
Welcome to the discussion.
Log In
Keep the discussion civilized. Absolutely NO personal attacks or insults directed toward writers, nor others who make comments.
Keep it clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
Don't threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Anyone violating these rules will be issued a warning. After the warning, comment privileges can be revoked.