FS-2025-0001-495072

Docket ID: RIN 0596-AD66 Title: Keep the 2001 Roadless Rule Intact! I strongly oppose the proposal to rescind the 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule. I urge the U.S. Forest Service to maintain the 2001 Rule. I have lived in the West since I was four years old, surrounded by our public lands. They have shaped my identity, interests, and professional pursuits for over 50 years. Now, in my retirement, I am dedicating much of my time to defending the wild places around where I currently live in Meadow Valley, California, in the heart of the Plumas National Forest. Over the last 20-plus years, catastrophic wildfires have affected me and my neighbors more intensely and frequently. The Plumas National Forest is already heavily roaded due to its extensive logging and mining history. At least 4,500 miles of system roads are on the Plumas NF, leaving only 6% of the forest as designated Inventoried Roadless Areas (IRA’s). Rescinding protections on these remaining mostly unroaded 65,000 acres will not solve our wildfire crisis. Instead, bringing roads into these steep, backcountry zones will dramatically increase the risks of human-caused ignition right in my backyard. More roads and more motorized human access increases wildfire ignition risks. Data consistently shows that humans are the source of roughly 90% of all wildfires in California. Introducing roads into currently IRAs significantly elevates the risk of accidental or intentional fires from vehicle use, equipment, and public access, endangering human and natural communities. The 2001 Roadless Rule already allows for fire suppression and public safety emergency responses. Rescinding this rule will degrade critical watersheds, and the Upper Feather River Watershed is the primary headwaters for the California State Water Project, supplying clean drinking water to over 27 million Californians and agricultural irrigation to 750,000 acres of farmland. Rescinding this rule would increase habitat fragmentation and impact wildlife. Roads cut through critical wildlife corridors, fragmenting the continuous habitat that wildlife needs to migrate, reproduce, and forage. Preserving large, contiguous blocks of forest is essential for maintaining biodiversity and ecosystem resilience, especially under changing climate conditions. The Inventoried Roadless Areas that I know best on the Plumas National Forest are: •Middle Fork & Bald Rock IRAs (29,278 acres) – the steep, rugged canyons that flank the Middle Fork of the Feather River, one of America’s original Wild and Scenic Rivers, is just a few short miles from my home. I regularly hike and backpack into this IRA. Keeping heavy machinery out of the canyon is so important to protect the plant and wildlife communities and recreational experiences like the ones I cherish. I have taken students to Bald Rock IRA for an overnight field course over a dozen times. We hiked in to spend the night in this sacred place, and learned about plant communities, geology, and myth. Allowing roads would ruin the unique character of Bald Rock IRA. •Adams Peak IRA (5,283 acres) – I have hiked Adams Peak, reveling in the challenge of route-finding, bushwacking, and breathless views of the Great Basin, Southern Cascades, and Northern Sierra Nevada received as a reward for the effort. The plant diversity is exceptional due to the junction of these ecoregions. •Grizzly Peak (6,222 acres) – The soaring views and opportunities for bird watching, hiking, swimming, and botanizing are what make this IRA special for me. There are so many places where vehicles are able to get on the Plumas National Forest. I urge you to maintain a few that are relatively roadless in order prioritize clean water, community safety and wellness, and ecosystem integrity. Please maintain the nationwide protections of the 2001 Roadless Rule. Sincerely, Darla S. DeRuiter