Read the comments.

Please keep roadless areas roadless. Extend comment time for reasonable studies. "Economic and Recreational Value: Roadless areas offer abundant outdoor recreation opportunities such as hiking, hunting, fishing, and camping in primitive settings. Every year, millions of people visit roadless outdoor areas and directly support a robust outdoor recreation economy. According to maps from Outdoor Alliance’s GIS Lab, roadless areas protect 11,337 climbing routes and boulder problems, more than 1,000 whitewater paddling runs, 43,826 miles of trail, and 20,298 mountain biking trails. Large sections of the Continental Divide, Pacific Crest, and Appalachian National Trails traverse protected roadless areas." THank you. Cynthia Bretheim 317 S Maple St, Bloomington, IN 47403-2240

To accomplish the objective of opening almost 30% of our national forest system to road building and other industrial plans, the Forest Service plans to repeal the Roadless Rule. I urge that the Roadless Rule NOT be repealed. The Rule protects 44.7 million acres of old growth forests, canyons, wet lands, and other undeveloped land. It safe guards clean drinking water for millions of Americans. It protects threatened species. It sustains old growth forests that serve as carbon sinks. It sustains and protects our beloved recreational activities,--hiking, biking, skiing, climbing, boating. In all, the Rule protects 10+ thousands of climbing routes,, 250+ thousand miles of trails, and 80+ thousand miles of rivers , many of which are home to native trout and salmon. Please do NOT rescind the Roadless Rule. Sincerely, Ms. Roberta Schonemann 4515 Erwin Rd West Lafayette, IN 47906-9274 schonem@gmail.com

Dear Special Areas: Roadless Area Conservation, se01nsnn se01nsnn , Leave national forests and national parks alone. They belong to everyone, and not just those who have the most money to turn them into data centers. Sara Joiner 8411 Talmage Court Fort Wayne, IN 46835 Sincerely, Sara Joiner

Subject: Public Comment on Docket FS-2025-0001 – Strong Opposition to Rescinding the 2001 Roadless Rule Dear Forest Service Officials, I am writing as a resident of Ferdinand, Indiana, to express my strong opposition to the proposal to rescind or weaken the 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule (Docket FS-2025-0001). I live near and own a woods near the Hoosier National Forest in southern Indiana. I care deeply about the preservation of our nation's shared natural heritage. The nearly 45 million acres of inventoried roadless areas across the United States belong to all Americans. These public lands serve as critical bulwarks against climate change, acting as massive carbon sinks and protecting the headwaters that provide clean drinking water to millions of people downstream. Opening these pristine, undeveloped lands to industrial logging and road construction will cause irreversible damage to wildlife habitats, increase wildfire vulnerability, and place an unnecessary financial burden on taxpayers to maintain new infrastructure. As a resident and taxpayer, I urge the U.S. Forest Service to uphold its commitment to conservation and sustainable public land management. Please select Alternative 1 (the No Action alternative) in the draft Environmental Impact Statement and keep the 2001 Roadless Rule fully intact. Thank you for your time and consideration of my comments. Sincerely, Rock G. Emmert Ferdinand, IN 47532

Dear Special Areas: Roadless Area Conservation, se01nsnn se01nsnn , As someone who cares deeply about national parks and the public lands that sustain them, I urge you to choose the No Action alternative and keep the Roadless Rule in place. For more than two decades, the rule has protected roughly 44.7 million acres of ecologically intact national forest lands, including areas near Yosemite, Yellowstone, and Great Smoky Mountains national parks. These wild places safeguard clean water, provide essential wildlife habitat, support outdoor recreation, and help keep park ecosystems connected and healthy. Rescinding the rule would expose these treasured landscapes to new roads and development, fragmenting habitat, degrading waterways, and putting our parks at risk. Many public lands are already available for timber and energy development. Roadless protections apply to only about 30% of National Forest lands, making these remaining intact areas especially important for future generations. Please do not move forward with this unnecessary rollback. Keep the Roadless Rule in place to protect the forests, wildlife, clean water, and the national parks. Rita Self Barile 7412 Clingmans Trail Fort Wayne, IN 46835 Sincerely, Ms. Rita Self Barile

For many reasons I am in strong support of Alternative 1 (the “No Action” alternative) in the Draft Environmental Impact Statement for Roadless Area Conservation. I urge the Forest Service to retain the 2001 Roadless Rule in its entirety and reject any proposals to rescind or weaken these vital protections across our national forests. The “No Action” alternative would continue to give these forests the level of protection that they now have. I also feel that the rule should be strengthened by closing loopholes that allow roadbuilding and logging activity in these protected roadless areas. These exceptions to the rule are often given under the guise of fire prevention and endangered species protection, neither of which is based on sound science. The Draft EIS does not consider an alternative that would strengthen protections, so a full and fair analysis of the impacts of the proposed action is impossible. The public must be given the opportunity to consider these alternatives. The lands in question include diverse forests, wetlands, canyons and other undeveloped lands that are critical to our nation's ecological health. Because they are not fragmented by roads, these Roadless Areas provide habitat for many imperiled species such as California condors, grizzly bears and wolves in the Yellowstone area, native salmon and trout in the Pacific Northwest, migratory songbirds in the Appalachian hardwoods and more. They also sustain wild salmon, especially in Alaska where they are the lifeblood for both the fishing industry and traditional subsistence practices of Indigenous communities.   The US National Forests are the headwaters of many of our great rivers and one of the largest sources of municipal water supply in the nation, serving over 60 million people in 3,400 communities in 33 states. Because it protects these headwaters, the 2001 Roadless Rule is vital for maintaining clean drinking water for communities across the country. Major U.S. cities including Los Angeles, Portland, Denver, and Atlanta receive a significant portion of their water supply from national forests. Roadless areas help to keep carbon dioxide levels from rising to an unlivable concentration. Mature forests are natural carbon sinks that store carbon dioxide and provide shade for cooler temperatures. Protected roadless areas help ensure that migratory game corridors for species such as elk and mule deer remain intact and protected from roads and the industrial development Many roadless areas are sanctuaries of the last remaining fragments of old growth forests. While the biggest ones are found in the western US and Alaska, the tiny fragments that remain in our eastern national forests can be as small as a few thousand acres. Many of these areas have remained roadless because they are not suitable to extractive industries, often having steep slopes and poor soil. We must protect the few precious fragments of old growth that we have left. Clearly, the Roadless Rule protects our last remaining wild places and should be protected fro future generations. Sincerely, Jeanne Melchior 880 Church Avenue Jasper, IN 47546 Jeanne.melchior11@gmail.com

Dear Special Areas: Roadless Area Conservation, I urge the U.S. Forest Service to keep intact the existing Roadless Area Conservation Rule (“Roadless Rule”), which protects nearly 45 million acres of our nation's forests and grasslands. Prior to the rule's implementation in 2001, industrial logging and accompanying roadbuilding disrupted and destroyed 3.2 million acres of fragile habitat annually while also degrading clean water supplies and limiting outdoor recreation opportunities. For a quarter century, the Roadless Rule has protected ecologically sensitive landscapes, wildlife populations and habitat, and communities dependent upon their services. The rule protects countless wild animals, including imperiled species who rely on intact habitats for survival. Additionally, these lands provide clean water and support numerous recreational activities that sustain local jobs and economies. The rule allows for flexibility in resource management, with exceptions for vegetation management and road construction projects in the interest of public health and safety. The American public overwhelmingly supports the Roadless Rule; recent bipartisan polling shows that 77% of voters support conserving roadless lands. Indeed, the rule was created with input from over 1.6 million comments and, in September, over half a million Americans responded to the U.S. Forest Service's notice of intent to repeal the Roadless Rule with comments voicing strong opposition. We have made our opinion clear time and time again–our public lands should remain public, not be degraded for the interests of private industry. I strongly urge the U.S. Forest Service not to repeal the Roadless Rule, as keeping the rule intact will protect our shared forestlands for generations to come. Diane Weissbradley 3014 Sunrise Dr, IN 46307 Sincerely, Diane Weissbradley