Some Places Are Worth Fighting For: Protecting the Roadless Rule

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"Cole's Forest" - 23 trees in West Virgnia's Monongahela National Forest, where I hope they will grow and thrive for generations to come, long after I'm gone.

Cole loved nature with a passion few people truly understand. For him, the wilderness was more than a place to visit. It was a sanctuary where peace, perspective, and beauty lived.

When we lost Cole on February 11, 2024, my co-workers honored his connection to the outdoors by donating 23 trees, planted in his name in the Monongahela National Forest. Knowing his memory lives on through new roots in those wild, protected woods has brought me comfort on some very dark days.

But right now, the safety of those woods is on the line. Federal officials have proposed throwing out the 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule. This rollback threatens to strip nationwide protections from more than 44 million acres of wild, undeveloped national forest across dozens of states. It endangers everything from the old-growth temperate rainforest of Alaska's Tongass to the high alpine basins of the Rockies, and roughly 200,000 acres of West Virginia's wild country—much of it in the Monongahela, where Cole's trees are growing.

Last week, I stepped away to unplug and reset. Grieving, staying present for the people I love, and working full-time is exhausting, and I needed time to breathe. While I was away, the federal public comment deadline passed.

When I realized I had missed my chance to submit a formal comment, I felt sick. Waves of grief and guilt washed over me. As a mom who will miss her son every second for the rest of her life, I treasure every opportunity to honor him and the things he loved. Missing this window stung, because I know this was something Cole would have wanted to protect and would never have stayed silent about.

People pushing for this repeal argue that building roads and logging will protect forests from fire. Cole knew better, and science backs him up. Intact, undisturbed ecosystems have their own resilience.

Nearly 90% of wildland fires are caused by humans—and data shows fires are vastly more likely to start right next to a road. Pushing roads deeper into the backcountry just brings in more of the human activity that starts fires in the first place. Shading the ground with mature trees keeps the forest floor damp and resilient. We don't need to destroy the Roadless Rule to manage fires, especially since the rule already allows for community protection work.

When the weight of that missed deadline hit me, I looked down at my arm. Tattooed there is a beautiful landscape woven from everything Cole loved—mountains rising beneath a vibrant sunrise, framed by his mantra, "No Bad Days." Right below the peaks is his birthdate and a permanent note to me, in his own handwriting: “I love you Mom, Love Cole”. It represents a belief he lived by every single day:

"No day is entirely bad; you just have to dig deeper some days to find the good."

Missing that deadline doesn't mean I failed him, and it doesn't break my promise to Cole. A public comment window is just one moment in time. Cole believed whole-heartedly that the lives best lived were reflections of the stories we weave from our adventures. His own best stories were born outdoors—hiking, climbing, and simply being in the wild. 

The real work of protecting these places happens through the stories we share, the ways we show up, and the noise we keep making. Speaking up for these trees is how I keep loving him, and it’s how I continue his story.

The proposal is not yet final. More than a million people have already commented in opposition, and your voice can still carry weight. You can call or write to your Members of Congress today.

HOW YOU CAN TAKE ACTION TODAY

 1. Call or email your representatives.

Find them at House.gov and Senate.gov, or call the U.S. Capitol Switchboard at (202) 224-3121 and ask to be connected to your Senator's or Representative's office. You can use or adapt this message:

"Hello, my name is [Your Name], and I'm a constituent from [Your City/ZIP]. I'm calling to urge Representative/Senator [Name] to oppose the administration's proposed repeal of the 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule.

More than a million Americans have already voiced opposition to this rollback. A repeal would strip protections from over 44 million acres of intact backcountry forest, including more than 25,000 miles of trails.

Please defend our public lands, clean drinking water, and outdoor recreation economy by supporting the Roadless Rule and backing permanent legislative protections."

2. Learn about Cole's legacy.

To read more about his life, his love for the outdoors, and the message behind his motto, visit the Cole Stevens No Bad Days Project.

3. Support Cole's memorial page with the American Hiking Society.

Honor his passion for wild places through our partnership page. Your contribution supports trail maintenance, policy defense, and public land protection. You can visit the campaign directly at https://americanhiking.app.neoncrm.com/campaigns/amy-weiner---in-memory-of-her-son-cole-stevens.

4. Keep Cole's spirit alive.

Every time you step onto a trail, speak up for wild places, or teach someone to love nature's untouched beauty the way Cole did, you honor his memory.

Cole taught us to keep going, to look past setbacks, and to find purpose in every day. 

The comment period may be closed, but our commitment to protecting the wild places he loved is not.