Comment Analysis · Docket FS-2025-0001

FS-2025-0001-226950

Opposes rescissionA2 moderateSubstance 11/24Owed an answerPosted August 21, 2026 On Regulations.gov

In short: The comment establishes that the DEIS lacks site-specific analysis of agricultural and forestry effluent impacts on the Riverside Fairy Shrimp in the Trabuco IRA, as documented by NatureServe, and asserts that the commenter's personal experience in these forests provides standing to request that the record reflect the non-extractive value of these areas.

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

A2 moderate: Hard to dismiss — it shows cause and effect.

Owed an answer on Analytical gap, Evidence.

Standard dismissals it defeats

  • 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.

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.
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • Misreads the proposal The agency says the comment misunderstands what is proposed. Defeated when the comment engages the proposal or a named place directly.
  • 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.
  • 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.

Topics

  • Environmental Protection Biodiversity
    • “protecting these special spaces”
    • “Riverside Fairy Shrimp (Streptocephalus woottoni, G1, E)”
    • “reduced biodiversity and multifunctionality”
    • “keeping these wild places wild”
  • Recreation Tourism Public Use
    • “outdoor enthusiast”
    • “regularly mountain bike and hike”
    • “backpacked all over the west”
    • “unplug but reconnect with each other”
  • Legal Regulatory Framework
    • “NEPA requires the agency to take a hard look”
    • “The DEIS fails this standard”
    • “Rescinding a settled rule is the kind of decision that should be made only on a strong record”

What it names

National Forests
Cleveland National ForestDixie National Forest

Attachments

2 files. Counts as 1 — Counts as one: The attachments enclose no one else's submissions; the comment counts as one.

  • Own letter
  • Own letter

The comment

Shaded passages are the ones the analysis quoted as evidence for a dimension: RequestLegal

Dear Ms. Rollins, As someone who goes out there regularly and has seen what happens to land after road access opens up, I'd urge the Department not to treat this rule as optional. I'm an outdoor enthusiast. I regularly mountain bike and hike in the local southern California mountains, Cleveland, San Gabriel, San Bernardino national forests. I've backpacked all over the west from California in the Sierras, Washington in the Cascades, the Flat Heads in Montana and Dixie national forest in Utah, just to name a few. Our country did something right by protecting these special spaces. It comes down to moments like this one. In July I hiked into the Sierras with three friends for a few days in the back country. Our annual traditional to unplug but reconnect with each other. As we were making our morning coffee we were watching two Marmots check us out as the storm clouds quickly moved in creating the most impressive full double rainbow I've ever seen. Our country did something right enacting the roadless rule keeping these wild places wild. I want the record to include this: that there are people for whom these forests are not a resource to be extracted but a place that matters. Regarding the Trabuco in the Cleveland National Forest, California: NatureServe threat assessment data document that Riverside Fairy Shrimp (Streptocephalus woottoni, G1, E) in the Trabuco IRA, Cleveland National Forest, faces 9.3 - Agricultural & forestry effluents at Serious - slight severity across Restricted (11-30%) scope. The roadless character of Trabuco currently prevents the infrastructure penetration that initiates 9.3 - Agricultural & forestry effluents. Rescission removes that barrier, allowing road construction to trigger the full cascade of impacts documented in NatureServe's threat assessment for Riverside Fairy Shrimp. NEPA requires the agency to take a hard look at the effects of rescission on Riverside Fairy Shrimp (Streptocephalus woottoni) in the Trabuco IRA. The DEIS fails this standard without site-specific analysis of 9.3 - Agricultural & forestry effluents at the severity and scope documented by NatureServe. "Grazing by domestic herbivores is the most widespread land use on the planet, and also a major global change driver in grasslands. We show that aridity partly explains the responses of biodiversity and multifunctionality to long-term livestock grazing. Grazing greatly reduced biodiversity and multifunctionality in steppes with higher aridity, while had no effects in steppes with relatively lower aridity. Long-term grazing had no effects in meadow steppes with relative lower aridity, but reduced biodiversity and multifunctionality in desert steppes with higher aridity." — Nature Communications, 2023 Rescinding a settled rule is the kind of decision that should be made only on a strong record, and the record here doesn't support it. Sincerely, Jan Schrieber CommentID: RLC-20260819-HS9PJ6

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