The Public Record · Docket FS-2025-0001

Read the comments.

Every public comment on the proposed rescission of the Roadless Rule, sorted by what it talks about. Pick a topic, then narrow by position, by how hard the comment is for the agency to set aside, or by how substantive it is. Each comment is shown in full, as filed. How comments are classified and scored is explained in the Comment Analysis.

1 unique comments26 submissions

Position

Opposes rescission 100.0%

Answerability

A1 strong 0
A2 moderate 0
A3 weak 0
A0 none 1

Substance /24

Median 4middle half 4–4 · 1 scored

Topics raised

26 submissions in this letter's group · showing 1–20Clear all filters

Opposes rescissionA0 noneSubstance 3/24Oct 6, 2026FS-2025-0001-595830
PLACESTANDDOCGAPEVIDASKALTLAW
Campaign — One letter sent by 10 or more people, copied or lightly reworded. See the letter, its submissions and topics.One of 26 submissions in its group.
I oppose the rollback of the Roadless Area Conservation Rule. For more than two decades, this rule has protected much of the wildness that remains in our national forests. The protections have been particularly vital in the Shawnee National Forest, where the forest is already highly fragmented. The 10,666 acres of important roadless areas in the Shawnee provide critical habitat for wildlife, clean our drinking water, store carbon, and offer refuge for people seeking quiet and beauty. Opening up areas of the Shawnee to more road construction means the spread of invasive species, further habitat fragmentation, erosion and sedimentation into pristine streams, as well as direct impacts to threatened and endangered species and all wildlife. I urge you to stop rolling back protections for our public lands and leave our last wild forests intact. Please keep the Roadless Rule in place. I live in this area, and I do now want more chaos, noise, pollution and destruction!!
Full analysis of this comment →
Opposes rescissionA0 noneSubstance 3/24Sep 29, 2026FS-2025-0001-509948
PLACESTANDDOCGAPEVIDASKALTLAW
Campaign — One letter sent by 10 or more people, copied or lightly reworded. See the letter, its submissions and topics.One of 26 submissions in its group.
Hello My name is John Chapin from Cambridge MA. I oppose the rollback of the Roadless Area Conservation Rule. For more than two decades, this rule has protected much of the wildness that remains in our national forests. The protections have been particularly vital in the Shawnee National Forest, where the forest is already highly fragmented. The 10,666 acres of important roadless areas in the Shawnee provide critical habitat for wildlife, clean our drinking water, store carbon, and offer refuge for people seeking quiet and beauty. Opening up areas of the Shawnee to more road construction means the spread of invasive species, further habitat fragmentation, erosion and sedimentation into pristine streams, as well as direct impacts to threatened and endangered species and all wildlife. I urge you to stop rolling back protections for our public lands and leave our last wild forests intact. Please keep the Roadless Rule in place.
Full analysis of this comment →
Opposes rescissionA0 noneSubstance 5/24Sep 17, 2026FS-2025-0001-441978
PLACESTANDDOCGAPEVIDASKALTLAW
Campaign — One letter sent by 10 or more people, copied or lightly reworded. See the letter, its submissions and topics.One of 26 submissions in its group.
I oppose the rollback of the Roadless Area Conservation Rule. For more than two decades, this rule has protected much of the wildness that remains in our national forests. The protections have been particularly vital for my neighbor to the north and west, the Shawnee National Forest, where the forest is already highly fragmented with multiple inholdings and small communities. The 10,666 acres of important roadless areas in the Shawnee provide critical habitat for wildlife, clean our drinking water, store carbon, and offer refuge for people seeking quiet and beauty. Opening up areas of the Shawnee to more road construction means the spread of invasive species, further habitat fragmentation, erosion and sedimentation into pristine streams, as well as direct impacts to threatened and endangered species and all wildlife. I recognize that the threat to our larger National Forests in western states is even greater, if that's possible. Changing this rule will also put increased and undue stress on our already under funded and understaff U.S. Forest Service. I urge you to stop rolling back protections for our public lands and leave our last wild forests intact. Please keep the Roadless Rule in place.
Full analysis of this comment →
Opposes rescissionA0 noneSubstance 3/24Sep 14, 2026FS-2025-0001-397915
PLACESTANDDOCGAPEVIDASKALTLAW
Campaign — One letter sent by 10 or more people, copied or lightly reworded. See the letter, its submissions and topics.One of 26 submissions in its group.
I oppose the rollback of the Roadless Area Conservation Rule. For more than two decades, this rule has protected much of the wildness that remains in our national forests. The protections have been particularly vital in the Shawnee National Forest, where the forest is already highly fragmented. The 10,666 acres of important roadless areas in the Shawnee provide critical habitat for wildlife, clean our drinking water, store carbon, and offer refuge for people seeking quiet and beauty. Opening up areas of the Shawnee to more road construction means the spread of invasive species, further habitat fragmentation, erosion and sedimentation into pristine streams, as well as direct impacts to threatened and endangered species and all wildlife. I urge you to stop rolling back protections for our public lands and leave our last wild forests intact. Please keep the Roadless Rule in place. And please protect our public lands and our oxygen producers. Judy Ashby
Full analysis of this comment →
Opposes rescissionA0 noneSubstance 3/24Sep 14, 2026FS-2025-0001-399663
PLACESTANDDOCGAPEVIDASKALTLAW
Campaign — One letter sent by 10 or more people, copied or lightly reworded. See the letter, its submissions and topics.One of 26 submissions in its group.
I oppose the rollback of the Roadless Area Conservation Rule. For more than two decades, this rule has protected much of the wildness that remains in our national forests. The protections have been particularly vital in the Shawnee National Forest, where the forest is already highly fragmented. The 10,666 acres of important roadless areas in the Shawnee provide critical habitat for wildlife, clean our drinking water, store carbon, and offer refuge for people seeking quiet and beauty. Opening up areas of the Shawnee to more road construction means the spread of invasive species, further habitat fragmentation, erosion and sedimentation into pristine streams, as well as direct impacts to threatened and endangered species and all wildlife. I urge you to stop rolling back protections for our public lands and leave our last wild forests intact. Please think about our future generations and the many species of plants and animals in the Shawnee National Forest. Keep the Roadless Rule in place.
Full analysis of this comment →
Opposes rescissionA0 noneSubstance 3/24Sep 13, 2026FS-2025-0001-375236
PLACESTANDDOCGAPEVIDASKALTLAW
Campaign — One letter sent by 10 or more people, copied or lightly reworded. See the letter, its submissions and topics.One of 26 submissions in its group.
I oppose the rollback of the Roadless Area Conservation Rule. For more than two decades, this rule has protected much of the wildness that remains in our national forests. The protections have been particularly vital in the Shawnee National Forest, where the forest is already highly fragmented.
Full analysis of this comment →
Opposes rescissionA0 noneSubstance 3/24Sep 12, 2026FS-2025-0001-352913
PLACESTANDDOCGAPEVIDASKALTLAW
Campaign — One letter sent by 10 or more people, copied or lightly reworded. See the letter, its submissions and topics.One of 26 submissions in its group.
I oppose the rollback of the Roadless Area Conservation Rule. For more than two decades, this rule has protected much of the wildness that remains in our national forests. The protections have been particularly vital in the Shawnee National Forest, where the forest is already highly fragmented. The 10,666 acres of important roadless areas in the Shawnee provide critical habitat for wildlife, clean our drinking water, store carbon, and offer refuge for people seeking quiet and beauty. Opening up areas of the Shawnee to more road construction means the spread of invasive species, further habitat fragmentation, erosion and sedimentation into pristine streams, as well as direct impacts to threatened and endangered species and all wildlife. I urge you to stop rolling back protections for our public lands and leave our last wild forests intact. Please keep the Roadless Rule in place. It is not asking too much for republicunts to actually consider the long-term stability of our country and natural ecosystems and not the short-term profit gains of their billionaire pedophile friends.
Full analysis of this comment →
Opposes rescissionA0 noneSubstance 3/24Sep 12, 2026FS-2025-0001-353031
PLACESTANDDOCGAPEVIDASKALTLAW
Campaign — One letter sent by 10 or more people, copied or lightly reworded. See the letter, its submissions and topics.One of 26 submissions in its group.
I know it's so cool to turn America into like 4 corporations but I oppose the rollback of the Roadless Area Conservation Rule. For more than two decades, this rule has protected much of the wildness that remains in our national forests. The protections have been particularly vital in the Shawnee National Forest, where the forest is already highly fragmented. The 10,666 acres of important roadless areas in the Shawnee provide critical habitat for wildlife, clean our drinking water, store carbon, and offer refuge for people seeking quiet and beauty. Opening up areas of the Shawnee to more road construction means the spread of invasive species, further habitat fragmentation, erosion and sedimentation into pristine streams, as well as direct impacts to threatened and endangered species and all wildlife. I urge you to stop rolling back protections for our public lands and leave our last wild forests intact. Please keep the Roadless Rule in place.
Full analysis of this comment →
Opposes rescissionA0 noneSubstance 3/24Sep 12, 2026FS-2025-0001-353052
PLACESTANDDOCGAPEVIDASKALTLAW
Campaign — One letter sent by 10 or more people, copied or lightly reworded. See the letter, its submissions and topics.One of 26 submissions in its group.
I oppose the rollback of the Roadless Area Conservation Rule. For more than two decades, this rule has protected much of the wildness that remains in our national forests. The protections have been particularly vital in the Shawnee National Forest (Illinois's only national forest!!), where the forest is already highly fragmented. This landscape is truly a natural beauty in a state where the landscape is predominately characterized by row crops. The 10,666 acres of important roadless areas in the Shawnee provide critical habitat for wildlife, clean our drinking water, store carbon, and offer refuge for people seeking quiet and beauty. Opening up areas of the Shawnee to more road construction means the spread of invasive species, further habitat fragmentation, erosion and sedimentation into pristine streams, as well as direct impacts to threatened and endangered species and all wildlife. I urge you to stop rolling back protections for our public lands and leave our last wild forests intact. Please keep the Roadless Rule in place.
Full analysis of this comment →
Opposes rescissionA0 noneSubstance 3/24Sep 12, 2026FS-2025-0001-353057
PLACESTANDDOCGAPEVIDASKALTLAW
Campaign — One letter sent by 10 or more people, copied or lightly reworded. See the letter, its submissions and topics.One of 26 submissions in its group.
I oppose the rollback of the Roadless Area Conservation Rule. For more than two decades, this rule has protected much of the wildness that remains in our national forests. The protections have been particularly vital in the Shawnee National Forest, where the forest is already highly fragmented. The 10,666 acres of important roadless areas in the Shawnee provide critical habitat for wildlife, clean our drinking water, store carbon, and offer refuge for people seeking quiet and beauty. Opening up areas of the Shawnee to more road construction means the spread of invasive species, further habitat fragmentation, erosion and sedimentation into pristine streams, as well as direct impacts to threatened and endangered species and all wildlife. I urge you to stop rolling back protections for our public lands and leave our last wild forests intact. Please keep the Roadless Rule in place. Ralph Edward DeWalt 606 West Clark St. Champaign, IL 61820
Full analysis of this comment →
Opposes rescissionA0 noneSubstance 4/24Sep 12, 2026FS-2025-0001-353102
PLACESTANDDOCGAPEVIDASKALTLAW
Campaign — One letter sent by 10 or more people, copied or lightly reworded. See the letter, its submissions and topics.One of 26 submissions in its group.
I visited the Shawnee National Forest earlier this year and was truly impressed with the forest and the way it was being maintained. I left knowing I wanted to bring my grandchildren there to explore the vast wildness of the forest. They should have the opportunity to bring their own grandchildren there some day and find it still a place of wonder and a vibrant ecosystem for the wildlife that call it home. I oppose the rollback of the Roadless Area Conservation Rule. For more than two decades, this rule has protected much of the wildness that remains in our national forests. The protections have been particularly vital in the Shawnee National Forest, where the forest is already highly fragmented. The 10,666 acres of important roadless areas in the Shawnee provide critical habitat for wildlife, clean our drinking water, store carbon, and offer refuge for people seeking quiet and beauty. Opening up areas of the Shawnee to more road construction means the spread of invasive species, further habitat fragmentation, erosion and sedimentation into pristine streams, as well as direct impacts to threatened and endangered species and all wildlife. I urge you to stop rolling back protections for our public lands and leave our last wild forests intact. Please keep the Roadless Rule in place.
Full analysis of this comment →
Opposes rescissionA0 noneSubstance 3/24Sep 12, 2026FS-2025-0001-353150
PLACESTANDDOCGAPEVIDASKALTLAW
Campaign — One letter sent by 10 or more people, copied or lightly reworded. See the letter, its submissions and topics.One of 26 submissions in its group.
I strongly oppose the rollback of the Roadless Area Conservation Rule. For more than two decades, this rule has protected much of the wildness that remains in our national forests. The protections have been particularly vital in the Shawnee National Forest, where the forest is already highly fragmented. The 10,666 acres of important roadless areas in the Shawnee provide critical habitat for wildlife, clean our drinking water, store carbon, and offer refuge for people seeking quiet and beauty. Opening up areas of the Shawnee to more road construction means the spread of invasive species, further habitat fragmentation, erosion and sedimentation into pristine streams, as well as direct impacts to threatened and endangered species and all wildlife. I urge you to stop rolling back protections for our public lands and leave our last wild forests intact. Please keep the Roadless Rule in place. We need our wild areas and the wildlife that live there. Donna Blomquist 9739 N 1150th Hennepin, IL 61327
Full analysis of this comment →
Opposes rescissionA0 noneSubstance 3/24Sep 12, 2026FS-2025-0001-353171
PLACESTANDDOCGAPEVIDASKALTLAW
Campaign — One letter sent by 10 or more people, copied or lightly reworded. See the letter, its submissions and topics.One of 26 submissions in its group.
I strongly oppose the rollback of the Roadless Area Conservation Rule. For more than two decades, this rule has protected much of the wildness that remains in our national forests. The protections have been particularly vital in the Shawnee National Forest, where the forest is already highly fragmented
Full analysis of this comment →
Opposes rescissionA0 noneSubstance 3/24Sep 12, 2026FS-2025-0001-353872
PLACESTANDDOCGAPEVIDASKALTLAW
Campaign — One letter sent by 10 or more people, copied or lightly reworded. See the letter, its submissions and topics.One of 26 submissions in its group.
I oppose the rollback of the Roadless Area Conservation Rule. For more than two decades, this rule has protected much of the wildness that remains in our national forests. The protections have been particularly vital in the Shawnee National Forest, where the forest is already highly fragmented. The 10,666 acres of important roadless areas in the Shawnee provide critical habitat for wildlife, clean our drinking water, store carbon, and offer refuge for people seeking quiet and beauty. Opening up areas of the Shawnee to more road construction means the spread of invasive species, further habitat fragmentation, erosion and sedimentation into pristine streams, as well as direct impacts to threatened and endangered species and all wildlife. I urge you to end this federal regulation proposal.
Full analysis of this comment →
Opposes rescissionA0 noneSubstance 4/24Sep 12, 2026FS-2025-0001-355848
PLACESTANDDOCGAPEVIDASKALTLAW
Campaign — One letter sent by 10 or more people, copied or lightly reworded. See the letter, its submissions and topics.One of 26 submissions in its group.
As a concerned American and as a resident of Illinois, I appreciate the opportunity to comment on this proposed rule. I am opposed to the rollback of the Roadless Area Conservation Rule. For more than two decades, this rule has protected much of the wildness that remains in our national forests. The protections have been particularly vital in the Shawnee National Forest, where the forest is already highly fragmented. The 10,666 acres of important roadless areas in the Shawnee provide critical habitat for wildlife, clean our drinking water, store carbon, and offer refuge for people seeking quiet and beauty. Opening up areas of the Shawnee to more road construction means the spread of invasive species, further habitat fragmentation, erosion and sedimentation into pristine streams, as well as direct impacts to threatened and endangered species and all wildlife. Please stop rolling back protections for our public lands and leave our last wild forests intact. Please keep the Roadless Rule in place. Thank you for your consideration.
Full analysis of this comment →
Opposes rescissionA0 noneSubstance 3/24Sep 12, 2026FS-2025-0001-357078
PLACESTANDDOCGAPEVIDASKALTLAW
Campaign — One letter sent by 10 or more people, copied or lightly reworded. See the letter, its submissions and topics.One of 26 submissions in its group.
I oppose the rollback of the Roadless Area Conservation Rule. For more than 20 years, this rule has protected much of the wildness that remains in our national forests. The protections have been particularly vital in the Shawnee National Forest, where the forest is already HIGHLY fragmented. The 10,666 acres of important roadless areas in the Shawnee provide critical habitat for wildlife, clean our drinking water, store carbon, and offer refuge for people seeking quiet and beauty. As a lover of hiking and enjoying an are WITHOUT ROADS, I believe opening up areas of the Shawnee to more road construction would accelerate: the spread of invasive species, habitat fragmentation, further erosion and sedimentation into pristine streams, as well as direct impacts to threatened and endangered species and all wildlife. We urge you to stop rolling back protections for our public lands and leave our last wild forests intact. Please keep the Roadless Rule in place.
Full analysis of this comment →
Opposes rescissionA0 noneSubstance 3/24Sep 9, 2026FS-2025-0001-342083
PLACESTANDDOCGAPEVIDASKALTLAW
Campaign — One letter sent by 10 or more people, copied or lightly reworded. See the letter, its submissions and topics.One of 26 submissions in its group.
I oppose the rollback of the Roadless Area Conservation Rule. For more than two decades, this rule has protected much of the wildness that remains in our national forests. The protections have been particularly vital in the Shawnee National Forest, where the forest is already highly fragmented. The 10,666 acres of important roadless areas in the Shawnee provide critical habitat for wildlife, clean our drinking water, store carbon, and offer refuge for people seeking quiet and beauty. Opening up areas of the Shawnee to more road construction means the spread of invasive species, further habitat fragmentation, erosion and sedimentation into pristine streams, as well as direct impacts to threatened and endangered species and all wildlife. I urge you to stop rolling back protections for our public lands and leave our last wild forests intact.
Full analysis of this comment →
Opposes rescissionA0 noneSubstance 3/24Sep 8, 2026FS-2025-0001-337089
PLACESTANDDOCGAPEVIDASKALTLAW
Campaign — One letter sent by 10 or more people, copied or lightly reworded. See the letter, its submissions and topics.One of 26 submissions in its group.
I strongly oppose the rollback of the Roadless Area Conservation Rule. For more than two decades, this rule has protected much of the wildness that remains in our national forests, that me and other citizens value deeply. The protections have been particularly vital in the Shawnee National Forest, where the forest is already highly fragmented. The 10,666 acres of important roadless areas in the Shawnee provide critical habitat for wildlife, clean our drinking water, store carbon, and offer refuge for people seeking quiet and beauty. Opening up areas of the Shawnee to more road construction means the spread of invasive species, further habitat fragmentation, erosion and sedimentation into pristine streams, as well as direct impacts to threatened and endangered species and all wildlife. I urge you to stop rolling back protections for our public lands and leave our last wild forests intact. Please keep the Roadless Rule in place.
Full analysis of this comment →
Opposes rescissionA0 noneSubstance 3/24Sep 7, 2026FS-2025-0001-318480
PLACESTANDDOCGAPEVIDASKALTLAW
Campaign — One letter sent by 10 or more people, copied or lightly reworded. See the letter, its submissions and topics.One of 26 submissions in its group.
Hello! I appreciate greatly the opportunity to participate in the democracy of our great country. I appreciate your attention! I oppose the rollback of the Roadless Area Conservation Rule. For more than two decades, this rule has protected much of the wildness that remains in our national forests. The protections have been particularly vital in the Shawnee National Forest, where the forest is already highly fragmented. The 10,666 acres of important roadless areas in the Shawnee provide critical habitat for wildlife, clean our drinking water, store carbon, and offer refuge for people seeking quiet and beauty. Opening up areas of the Shawnee to more road construction means the spread of invasive species, further habitat fragmentation, erosion and sedimentation into pristine streams, as well as direct impacts to threatened and endangered species and all wildlife. I urge you to stop rolling back protections for our public lands and leave our last wild forests intact. Please keep the Roadless Rule in place
Full analysis of this comment →
Opposes rescissionA0 noneSubstance 3/24Sep 7, 2026FS-2025-0001-319337
PLACESTANDDOCGAPEVIDASKALTLAW
Campaign — One letter sent by 10 or more people, copied or lightly reworded. See the letter, its submissions and topics.One of 26 submissions in its group.
No new roads! I oppose the rollback of the Roadless Area Conservation Rule. For more than two decades, this rule has been one of the few but strong protections for much of the wildness that remains in our national forests. The protections have been particularly vital in the Shawnee National Forest, where the forest is already highly fragmented. The 10,666 acres of roadless areas in the Shawnee provide critical habitat for wildlife, clean our drinking water, store carbon, and offer refuge for people seeking quiet and beauty. Opening up areas of the Shawnee to more road construction means the spread of invasive species, further habitat fragmentation, erosion and sedimentation into pristine streams, loss of the peace and beauty of wildness, as well as direct impacts to threatened and endangered species and all wildlife. I urge you to stop rolling back protections for our public lands and leave our last wild forests intact. Please keep the Roadless Rule in place.
Full analysis of this comment →

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Please cite us. This analysis is the intellectual property of Roadless.org and Nicholas Holshouser. You are welcome to reproduce it — every reproduction must include this citation:

Roadless.org and Nicholas Holshouser, “2001 Roadless Rule Revision — Substantive Analysis,” https://roadless.org.

How it works. A large language model (an open-weight Qwen3.8 model) reads each substantive comment and copies, word for word, the passages that carry its analytical gap, evidence, request, alternative and connection to the place; it returns no scores. Code grades those passages 0–3 on eight dimensions — evidence, legal grounding, engagement with the environmental analysis, analytical gaps, alternatives, specific requests, position, and local knowledge — with legal grounding taken from a citation scan, not the model. For the strongest tenth on each side, the copied passages are checked against the comment and shown as exhibits. A comment counts as “substantive” when it clears a floor filter — it must show at least one substantive signal (a named entity, a specific citation, a stated analytical deficiency, or first-person testimony), which screens out one-line and purely conclusory submissions before any model scoring.

The full method. Every step, why it is done that way, its known limits and a glossary: Methodologies →

The data. The full canonical dataset — every comment on Docket FS-2025-0001 — is available from Regulations.gov: https://www.regulations.gov/bulkdownload.

Roadless.org — analysis of the public comment docket.
Media inquiries welcome — nicholas@wanderingnature.com.