FS-2025-0001-501180

Subject: Oppose Rescission of the 2001 Roadless Rule – Docket FS-2025-0001 Attention: U.S. Forest Service, Department of Agriculture I am writing in strong opposition to the proposed rescission of the 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule Docket FS-2025-0001. I explicitly oppose any changes that would open these intact lands to new road construction. As a resident of Washington, Utah, I deeply value the pristine, undeveloped nature of our nearby public lands. I regularly hike on Cedar Mountain, explore the Ashdown Gorge Wilderness area, and recreate on trails like Yant Flat within the Dixie National Forest. The inventoried roadless areas in these specific landscapes are vital for protecting the remote character, scenic beauty, and fragile ecosystems of Southern Utah’s high-altitude forests and red rock backcountry. Building roads into these intact areas permanently fragments critical wildlife habitats, degrades soil stability on steep canyon terrain, and threatens the purity of municipal watersheds that our growing desert communities rely on. Furthermore, introducing vehicle corridors into remote backcountry areas significantly increases the risk of human-caused wildfire ignitions in an area already prone to severe drought and fire risk. Local forest planning cannot replace the uniform, durable protection that the 2001 Roadless Rule provides. I urge the Forest Service to withdraw this proposal and keep the roadless areas of the Dixie National Forest entirely free of road development. I have attached photographs of the Cedar Mountain, Ashdown Gorge, and Yant Flat areas to illustrate the scenic, ecological, and recreational values that could be harmed by new road construction. Sincerely, Southern Utah Hiker