Dear Mr. Schultz:
As someone on public land most weekends, the Rule does what it says. Don't touch it.
I hike in and commune with this and surrounding 'roadless areas' many weeks throughout the years over the past 30 years. I am committed to it's complete preservation.
My first hike up Riddley Creek trail as a young wanderer opened my eyes to the shocking beauty that untouched (non-roaded) wilderness areas let us experience. I built a strong desire to stay close to and work to preserve that beauty with the whole of my efforts. I have seen over the years that no new roads being made here have helped to preserve what precious wilds we still have.
Regarding the Mt. Baker West in the Mt Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest, Washington:
Oregon Spotted Frog (Rana pretiosa, G2, T) — an imperiled species — is documented present in the Mt. Baker West IRA and ecologically associated with Pacific Northwest Dry Silver Fir Forest (North Pacific Dry-Mesic Silver Fir-Western Hemlock-Douglas-fir Forest) (GNR, 5.2% of the area, ~1,313 acres). A species ranked G2 by NatureServe cannot absorb the habitat degradation that road construction inflicts on its ecosystem in Mt Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest.
"Roads dissect previously large patches into smaller ones and create forest edge habitat along both sides of the road. This can lead to a change in community composition because species that depend on particular interior habitat conditions would be removed. Three variables changed significantly with increasing distance from the road to the forest interior along wide roads: tree biomass, herbaceous plant biomass, and soil pH."
— Springer Nature / Landscape Ecology, 2020
NatureServe documents Oregon Spotted Frog (Rana pretiosa, G2) as ecologically associated with Pacific Northwest Dry Silver Fir Forest (North Pacific Dry-Mesic Silver Fir-Western Hemlock-Douglas-fir Forest). Species presence data independently confirms the species occupies the Mt. Baker West IRA. Road construction breaks the link between these two documented facts by degrading the ecosystem the species depends on — fragmenting habitat, altering hydrology, and introducing disturbance into previously intact forest.
The DEIS must use NatureServe's ecological association data linking Oregon Spotted Frog (Rana pretiosa, G2, T) to Pacific Northwest Dry Silver Fir Forest (North Pacific Dry-Mesic Silver Fir-Western Hemlock-Douglas-fir Forest) (GNR) when analyzing road construction impacts in the Mt. Baker West IRA. This peer-reviewed, publicly available evidence is part of the best available science the agency is obligated to consider.
Rescinding the roaless rule would absolutely increase the possibilities of extractive entities to raze through our sacred forests, destroying the vital habitat that protects and connects us all.
best,
CommentID: RLC-20260926-GF9FVW