Roadless
Dear Secretary Brooke L. Rollins,
As an outdoor enthusiast who regularly uses areas of national forest that retain their current character specifically because the 2001 Rule prohibits road construction within them, I respectfully submit that the Department's obligation under applicable statutes includes giving full weight to the public interest in those conditions before authorizing their alteration.
Regarding the Clearwater in the Mt Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest, Washington:
NFMA requires consistency between agency actions and the applicable forest plan. The Forest Plan for Mt Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest governing the Clearwater IRA was developed under the assumption that Roadless Rule protections would remain in effect.
"Inventoried roadless areas provide large, relatively undisturbed blocks of habitat for a variety of terrestrial and aquatic wildlife and plants, including hundreds of threatened, endangered, or sensitive species. Many inventoried roadless areas function as biological strongholds and refuges for a number of species, and they play a key role in maintaining native plant and animal communities and biological diversity."
— USDA Forest Service
By eliminating Roadless Rule protections for the Clearwater IRA, Mt Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest, rescission authorizes activities — road construction, commercial timber removal, surface-disturbing development — that are inconsistent with the management direction the Forest Plan established for this area.
“Inventoried roadless areas provide large, relatively undisturbed blocks of habitat for a variety of terrestrial and aquatic wildlife and plants, including hundreds of threatened, endangered, or sensitive species. Many inventoried roadless areas function as biological strongholds and refuges for a number of species, and they play a key role in maintaining native plant and animal communities and biological diversity. — USDA Forest Service (https://www.fs.usda.gov/sites/default/files/roadless/roadless-feis-ssummary.pdf)”
Faithfully,
CommentID: RLC-20261001-F6LCJV