Date: Tue, 7 Sep 2004 17:25:35 -0400 (EDT)
From: belmonte@MIT.EDU (Matthew Belmonte)
To: statepetitionroadless@fs.fed.us
Subject: public comment on 36 CFR 294 (B), the roadless rule

This is a public comment on docket number 04-16191, proposed changes to
36 CFR 294 (B), the `roadless rule.'

I strongly oppose this proposal to repeal the Roadless Area Conservation Rule.  
The Roadless Rule is a balanced policy that was finalised after years of        
scientific study, 600 public hearings and a record number of public comments,   
the majority of which overwhelmingly support protecting roadless areas through  
the rule.

The Roadless Rule is a vital tool for balancing the recreational benefits of    
undeveloped areas of national forests against the economic pressures for        
road-building and timber harvesting.  I urge you to abandon this misguided      
proposal and keep the Roadless Area Conservation Rule intact in the lower 48    
states and Alaska's Chugach National Forest and to reinstate the rule in the    
Tongass National Forest.

Matthew Belmonte
[address]