In one of the most remote yet beautiful areas of Pennsylvania lies Allegheny National Forest, home to several endangered species as well as the Eastern hellbender salamander — our state amphibian, whose population also is threatened.
In 2025, Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins announced plans to roll back the Roadless Rule. This move will open up these thriving wildlife habitats and recreational areas for logging and road-building.
Rather than opening up new areas to logging, we should double-down on preventing commercial logging in our oldest forests. We can reduce our use of new wood by investing in technology that allows us to replace wood pulp with bamboo pulp or wheat straw.
We need to protect our forests, and if the Roadless Rule won’t protect the millions of acres of forests across the United States and the most pristine areas in Allegheny National Forest, then we need legislation to further protect it.
I hope Pennsylvania’s senators will permanently protect places like Allegheny National Forest by co-sponsoring the Roadless Area Conservation Act.
Maya Ducker
Squirrel Hill