Comment Analysis · Docket FS-2025-0001

FS-2025-0001-329109

Opposes rescissionA1 strongSubstance 17/24Owed an answerPosted September 7, 2026 On Regulations.gov

In short: The comment establishes that the agency's DEIS and Cost Benefit Analysis fail to justify rescinding the Roadless Rule because the projected economic benefits are negligible compared to recreation losses, the existing regulatory exceptions already address necessary construction, and the proposal ignores documented ecological harms to bird and bear populations and unaddressed wildfire feedback loops.

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

Water Quality Quantity
- “Tellico and Hiawassee Rivers run clear because they begin in roadless watersheds”
- “keeping roads out of the headwaters”
- “clarity is not incidental”
Wildlife Habitat
- “Cheoah Bald roadless area... resting place for hundreds of thousands of migrant birds”
- “bird richness declines with road presence”
- “Snowbird area... supports a large population of bears, deer, and grouse”
- “increased contact and conflict that come with open roads in grizzly habitat”
Economic Impact Fiscal
- “economic case for rescission collapses”
- “total timber volume affected by this rule is less than 0.5 percent”
- “recreation losses of at least $6.1 million a year”
- “net present value spanning negative $92 million to positive $199 million”
Recreation Tourism Public Use
- “I paddle both rivers”
- “camped, hiked, and paddled in these roadless areas”
- “guide backpacking trips into these areas”
- “Joyce Kilmer is one of the few places where old-growth eastern deciduous forest can still be experienced”

What it names

National Forests: Cherokee National Forest
Roadless areas: Cheoah Bald
Law cited: 36 C.F.R. Section 294.12

The comment

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

Re: Rescission of the Roadless Area Conservation Rule, Docket FS-2025-0001 The Tellico and Hiawassee Rivers run clear because they begin in roadless watersheds. I paddle both rivers, and that clarity is not incidental. It is the direct product of keeping roads out of the headwaters. I have camped, hiked, and paddled in these roadless areas of the Cherokee and Nantahala National Forests for over 40 years. I am visiting the upper part of Joyce Kilmer this fall. I am writing because the Forest Service proposes to rescind the protection that makes these places what they are, and the agency's own numbers do not support doing it. The economic case for rescission collapses when you read the agency's own record. The DEIS states that "the total timber volume affected by this rule is less than 0.5 percent of total United States production, and the total oil and gas production from all National Forest System lands is currently about 0.4 percent of the current national production." A rule affecting fractions that small does not justify dismantling protections that took decades to build. I ask the agency to reconcile the proposal with its own Cost Benefit Analysis, which projects $5.2 to $11.4 million a year in timber revenue to the Forest Service against recreation losses of at least $6.1 million a year and a net present value spanning negative $92 million to positive $199 million, and to explain how an action whose own analysis cannot establish a net benefit justifies expanding a road system already carrying a $6.9 billion maintenance backlog. The agency also has not shown that the rule prevents anything it actually needs to do. The rule "generally banned road building subject to limited exceptions including: the preservation of 'reserved or outstanding rights' or discretionary Forest Service construction necessary for public health and safety. 36 C.F.R. Section 294.12(b)(1),(3)." The agency should identify which specific burdens are not already addressed by those exceptions, name them by category, and quantify them. That identification belongs in the record before any rescission is finalized. I guide backpacking trips into these areas and take adults out to view what lives here. The Cheoah Bald roadless area in the Nantahala is a high-elevation resting place for hundreds of thousands of migrant birds, including some of our most threatened species. The DEIS cites findings that bird richness declines with road presence in forested habitat, and that road-noise experiments in a roadless area cut bird abundance by over a quarter, with 31 percent of species avoiding the noise entirely. With the severe decline in bird populations already underway, these undisturbed areas are not a luxury. They are a requirement for survival of the species that depend on them. I want the agency to explain what specific mitigation would prevent the population-level harm its own cited research describes. The Snowbird area in the Nantahala supports a large population of bears, deer, and grouse, and it does so because the lack of roads keeps it remote. The DEIS quotes the federal grizzly recovery plan: "the increased contact and conflict that come with open roads in grizzly habitat can ultimately end in grizzly mortality, and shooting, habituation and food reward all increase with the use of even secondary unpaved roads." The principle applies across bear habitat generally, and the Cherokee National Forest's verified species list includes black bear. Wildfire in eastern roadless areas is mostly human caused. More access means more ignition sources in ecosystems that have not been conditioned to recover from that frequency of fire. The agency has not addressed either of these feedback loops in its justification for rescission. Finally, the proposal itself solicits "any reliance interests in the current rule that could be affected by this proposal" (91 FR 53830-31), and the Cost Benefit Analysis weighs none. I have structured over 40 years of use, guiding, and planning around the expectation that these areas remain roadless. Joyce Kilmer is one of the few places where old-growth eastern deciduous forest can still be experienced. The Cherokee holds 18 inventoried roadless areas totaling 84,881 acres. That is the landscape my reliance is built on. The agency must identify and weigh the reliance interests described in the comments it receives, including this one, before it takes any final action. Sincerely Wilfred M Post Powell TN 37949