FS-2025-0001-513405

Docket ID: FS-2025-0001 / RIN 0596-AD66 Subject: Please Preserve the 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule Dear Secretary Rollins and U.S. Forest Service Leadership, I respectfully urge the U.S. Forest Service to reconsider its proposal to eliminate the protections established by the 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule. For more than two decades, the rule has helped safeguard millions of acres of undeveloped national forest land from activities such as commercial timber harvesting, mining, and extensive road construction. My concern is especially significant here in Virginia. Nearly 394,000 acres within the George Washington and Jefferson National Forests are designated as roadless, representing the largest amount of protected roadless acreage in the eastern United States. Rescinding the existing rule could leave more than 332,000 of those acres without their current protections. These lands provide benefits that extend far beyond simply preserving undeveloped forests. Water quality is one of those benefits. Healthy, intact forests help protect watersheds relied upon by communities downstream. Expanding roads and commercial activity into currently undeveloped areas creates unnecessary risks to those water resources. Outdoor recreation is another important consideration. Virginia's national forests support hiking, hunting, fishing, mountain biking, and portions of the Appalachian Trail. These recreational opportunities are important not only to residents and visitors but also to the rural communities and businesses that benefit from outdoor tourism. Once these resources are lost, there is no getting them back. Wildlife habitat would also face greater pressure. Road construction can divide otherwise connected habitats, increase interactions between vehicles and wildlife, and negatively affect the cold-water streams that native brook trout depend upon. There is also a practical financial concern. The Forest Service already faces substantial demands associated with maintaining its existing road network. Creating opportunities for additional road construction would add new long-term responsibilities at a time when agency staffing and maintenance resources are already strained. Our national forests should be managed with future generations in mind. Once intact landscapes are fragmented by roads and development, restoring them can be difficult and costly. The Roadless Rule offers a reasonable way to protect these places while preserving their ecological, recreational, and economic value. For these reasons, I respectfully ask the U.S. Forest Service to withdraw the proposed rescission and maintain the protections provided by the 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule. When we lose an untouched forest, we lose something no amount of money or time can truly replace. Please protect it. Thank you for considering my comments. Sincerely, Alan Eberle 705 McCormick Blvd Clifton Forge, VA 24422 540/968-3151