Opposes rescissionA0 noneSubstance 6/24Posted August 27, 2026 On Regulations.gov
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Dear Forest Service Leadership:
As a healthcare worker, I know that stable systems aren't stable by accident — they're stable because something is holding them there, and removing that something has consequences.
The Department is urged to retain the Roadless Area Conservation Rule in recognition of the public interest that connections of this kind represent — an interest that rescission would permanently diminish.
Regarding the Balsam Cone in the Pisgah National Forest, North Carolina:
Timber harvest, associated road construction, and vegetation removal directly alter roadless character and degrade habitat quality.
Forest road construction damages adjacent trees. Road construction on steep mountain terrain damages 21 to 33 percent of trees in the construction zone, depending on equipment used; on very steep terrain, damage rises to 27 to 44 percent. Direct habitat conversion and indirect fragmentation extend well beyond the road's physical footprint (Caliskan 2013). — Erhan Caliskan, 2013 · Iranian Journal of Environmental Health Science & Engineering (https://doi.org/10.1186/1735-2746-10-23)
Rescinding the Roadless Rule would open the Balsam Cone, Pisgah National Forest to road construction and associated ground disturbance. The direct and indirect effects of that activity are precisely what makes a specific comment about this area necessary.
Roadless areas are not only beneficial for our environment, they support us by providing air, water, natural wonder, as well as our enjoyment.
“Pisgah National Forest was established on October 17, 1916, under the authority of the Weeks Act of 1911, which authorized the federal government to purchase private land for the protection of watersheds of navigable streams. The core of the forest was formed in 1914 when Edith Vanderbilt sold approximately 86,700 acres of the Biltmore Estate to the federal government. On July 10, 1936, a significant portion of the Unaka National Forest was transferred to Pisgah. Between 1933 and 1942, the Civilian Conservation Corps operated numerous camps within the forest.”
The grounds articulated in this comment support one conclusion: the Roadless Area Conservation Rule should not be rescinded.
With resolve,
CommentID: RLC-20260826-BFBVWM