By Patrick Lohmann ,
1 hours ago More than 99% of New Mexico residents who submitted comments to the United States Forest Service oppose repealing the 2001 Roadless Rule. Dozens of them used the federal government’s comment portal to reflect on solitude in nature. (Photo of Gila National Forest courtesy USDA)
Most of the roughly 600 New Mexico residents who weighed in on the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s proposal to end the 2001 Roadless Rule said it should remain in place to protect watersheds and wildlife, as well as spare roughly 1.6 million acres of the state’s forestland from extractive industries.
But beyond the policy itself, dozens of them, via a public comment portal on Regulations.gov , offered personal reflections about profound experiences in untamed nature, which they see as at risk if the USDA moves forward with the rule’s repeal.
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“We never saw nor heard another person, vehicle or anything else manmade,” one person wrote about a backpacking trip in the Gila National Forest, of which roughly one quarter is protected under the Roadless Rule. “Instead we saw skies so lit up with stars we almost didn’t need ...