In short: The comment establishes that the Big Snowy Mountains in the Helena-Lewis and Clark National Forest serve as critical elk security habitat and cold-water spawning grounds that depend on the absence of permanent roads, and requests the retention of the 2001 Roadless Rule or a Montana-specific alternative to prevent habitat fragmentation and water quality degradation.
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
A0 none: Counted, not answered.
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.
- 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.
Topics
- Wildlife Habitat
- “lack of permanent system roads is what creates elk security habitat”
- “fragment the security cover”
- “increase motorized disturbance”
- “elk leave”
- Water Quality Quantity
- “headwater streams coming off the Big Snowies run cold because they are shaded and intact”
- “New roads bleed sediment into spawning beds”
- “warm the water”
- Recreation Tourism Public Use
- “public hunting opportunity”
- “quality hunt”
- “The same applies to fishing”
- “once-in-a-lifetime hunt”
- Forest Management Wildfire
- “I support active forest management”
- “thinning and prescribed burning where it improves forage and reduces fire risk”
- “treated over 188,000 acres of roadless ground for hazardous fuels under the rule”
The comment
Shaded passages are the ones the analysis quoted as evidence for a dimension: EvidenceLegal