In short: The comment places on the record specific prior agency findings from the 2000 FEIS and 66 FR 3244 regarding increased fire risks and economic impacts, and requests that the agency reconcile the proposed rescission with these findings while addressing the Tenth Circuit's holding on the 2001 rule's authority.
Scored directly — The comment's whole text was scored on its own.
Scorecard
Each dimension is scored 0–3; the eight sum to the substance score out of 24.
- Specific placeNames a specific location — from a region down to an exact creek, trail, road, or map reference.
- Local knowledgeDraws on a first-hand connection to the place — visits, sustained activity, occupation, or a professional role.
- EA analysisEngages the agency's environmental analysis directly.
- Analytical gapIdentifies something the analysis fails to address.
- EvidenceBacks claims with specific facts, data, or research.
- RequestMakes a specific, actionable request of the agency.
- AlternativeProposes a different course of action.
- LegalCites statutes, regulations, or legal obligations.
How hard it is to set aside
A1 strong: Must be answered — it names the law.
Owed an answer on Analytical gap, Evidence, Legal.
Standard dismissals it defeats
- Already addressed The agency says its analysis already covers the point. Defeated when the comment cites the law itself: there is no analysis to cite against a statutory claim.
- Misreads the proposal The agency says the comment misunderstands what is proposed. Defeated when the comment engages the proposal or a named place directly.
- No cause and effect shown The agency says the comment asserts a harm without showing how the action causes it. Defeated when the comment shows the mechanism.
- Outside the scope The agency says the comment asks about a different action. Defeated when the comment is specific and tied to this proposal.
- Certified not substantive The agency certifies the comment raises nothing substantive. Defeated when the comment alleges illegality, which is substantive by the definition the certification runs on.
Still open to the agency
- Alternative already eliminated The agency says it considered and eliminated the alternative the comment proposes, with a reason. Cannot be defeated from the comment text alone.
- Deferred to a later decision The agency says the point belongs to a later, site-specific decision. Cannot be defeated from the comment text alone.
- Not required The agency says the analysis the comment asks for is not required. Cannot be defeated from the comment text alone.
- Preference noted The agency notes the comment as a statement of preference and takes no action on it. Cannot be defeated from the comment text alone.
Topics
- Recreation Tourism Public Use
- “I felt at peace here”
- “Losing this would mean losing a place where kids learn about the power of nature”
- “It is just you, nature, and the animals”
- “Words don't do it justice how amazing this land is without any roads”
- Forest Management Wildfire
- “human-caused wildland fire is nearly five times more likely to occur on essentially roaded lands”
- “substantially increased level of fire occurrence outside inventoried roadless areas”
- “disclose and analyze the increased risk of human-caused ignition”
- “explain in the DEIS why it now departs from its own prior findings on fire occurrence”
- Economic Impact Fiscal
- “total timber volume affected by this rule is less than 0.5 percent of total United States production”
- “backlog of about $8.4 billion in deferred maintenance”
- “reconcile the proposal with its own prior economic findings”
- “disclose the fiscal consequences of expanding that system”
- Legal Regulatory Framework
- “Tenth Circuit's holding that the 2001 rule was within the authority Congress granted”
- “did not create de facto wilderness”
- “explain in the DEIS the basis for any contrary position”
- “provide a reasoned explanation for it on the record”
The comment
Shaded passages are the ones the analysis quoted as evidence for a dimension: Analytical gapLegal