Comment Analysis · Docket FS-2025-0001

FS-2025-0001-531552

Opposes rescissionA1 strongSubstance 14/24Owed an answerPosted October 1, 2026 On Regulations.gov

In short: The comment places on the record specific deficiencies in the agency's rescission proposal, including the failure to reconcile the DEIS finding that roads increase fire risk with the proposal's rationale, the lack of demonstrated net economic benefit in the agency's own cost-benefit analysis, and the failure to address prior judicial findings regarding the rule's statutory authority and the inadequacy of state-by-state frameworks.

Scored directly — The comment's whole text was scored on its own.

Scorecard

Each dimension is scored 0–3; the eight sum to the substance score out of 24.

Specific placeNames a specific location — from a region down to an exact creek, trail, road, or map reference.
Local knowledgeDraws on a first-hand connection to the place — visits, sustained activity, occupation, or a professional role.
EA analysisEngages the agency's environmental analysis directly.
Analytical gapIdentifies something the analysis fails to address.
EvidenceBacks claims with specific facts, data, or research.
RequestMakes a specific, actionable request of the agency.
AlternativeProposes a different course of action.
LegalCites statutes, regulations, or legal obligations.

How hard it is to set aside

A1 strong: Must be answered — it names the law.

Owed an answer on Analytical gap, Evidence, Legal.

Standard dismissals it defeats

Already addressed The agency says its analysis already covers the point. Defeated when the comment cites the law itself: there is no analysis to cite against a statutory claim.
Misreads the proposal The agency says the comment misunderstands what is proposed. Defeated when the comment engages the proposal or a named place directly.
No cause and effect shown The agency says the comment asserts a harm without showing how the action causes it. Defeated when the comment shows the mechanism.
Outside the scope The agency says the comment asks about a different action. Defeated when the comment is specific and tied to this proposal.
Certified not substantive The agency certifies the comment raises nothing substantive. Defeated when the comment alleges illegality, which is substantive by the definition the certification runs on.

Still open to the agency

Alternative already eliminated The agency says it considered and eliminated the alternative the comment proposes, with a reason. Cannot be defeated from the comment text alone.
Deferred to a later decision The agency says the point belongs to a later, site-specific decision. Cannot be defeated from the comment text alone.
Not required The agency says the analysis the comment asks for is not required. Cannot be defeated from the comment text alone.
Preference noted The agency notes the comment as a statement of preference and takes no action on it. Cannot be defeated from the comment text alone.

Topics

Forest Management Wildfire
- “human-caused wildland fire is nearly five times more likely to occur on essentially roaded lands”
- “far higher fire density on roaded land than inside the affected roadless areas”
- “agency's own data show roads increase ignition risk”
Economic Impact Fiscal
- “total timber volume affected by this rule is less than 0.5 percent of total United States production”
- “net present value spanning -$92 million to +$199 million”
- “expanding a road system already carrying a $6.9 billion maintenance backlog”
Legal Regulatory Framework
- “Ninth Circuit reviewed the agency's last attempt to substitute a state-by-state framework”
- “Tenth Circuit found the 2001 rule was within the authority Congress granted”
- “how it accounts for the Tenth Circuit's holding”
Water Quality Quantity
- “378 municipal water intakes sit in watersheds containing affected roadless areas”
- “roadless areas in the George Washington National Forest protect that water”

What it names

National Forests: George Washington National Forest
Roadless areas: Gum RunNorthern MassanuttenSouthern Massanutten
Law cited: 28 U.S.C. Section 1291

The comment

Shaded passages are the ones the analysis quoted as evidence for a dimension: Specific placeLocal knowledgeEA analysisAnalytical gapRequest

Re: Rescission of the Roadless Area Conservation Rule, Docket FS-2025-0001 The roadless areas in the George Washington National Forest matter to me, and I am filing this comment to oppose the proposed rescission of the 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule (Docket FS-2025-0001). The areas I am concerned about include Northern Massanutten, Big Schloss, Southern Massanutten, Gum Run, and Dry River, all within the George Washington National Forest in Virginia and West Virginia. Virginia holds 64 inventoried roadless areas totaling 393,682 acres. What happens to these places is not abstract to me. The agency's stated rationale rests partly on wildfire and fuels management. But the agency's own record undermines that rationale directly. The DEIS states: "Building a road into a forest at high risk from uncharacteristic wildfire effects could increase the incidence of human-caused fires. A human-caused wildland fire is nearly five times more likely to occur on essentially roaded lands than on essentially unroaded lands." That finding does not appear anywhere in the rescission proposal as something to be reconciled, explained, or distinguished. The agency needs to explain why it is departing from its own prior analysis on fire occurrence and reconcile this proposal with the ignition data in DEIS Table 21, which reports far higher fire density on roaded land than inside the affected roadless areas. The economic case for rescission is just as weak. The agency's own record states that "the total timber volume affected by this rule is less than 0.5 percent of total United States production, and the total oil and gas production from all National Forest System lands is currently about 0.4 percent of the current national production." These are small numbers. The agency's own Cost Benefit Analysis projects timber revenue to the Forest Service of $5.2 to $11.4 million a year against recreation losses of at least $6.1 million a year, with a net present value spanning -$92 million to +$199 million. That range does not establish a net benefit. The agency should explain how an action whose own analysis cannot demonstrate a clear economic gain justifies expanding a road system already carrying a $6.9 billion maintenance backlog. I want a direct answer to that question on the record. The proposal also argues that state-specific approaches can replace the national rule. The agency's own record shows where that path led before. The record states that "the USDA discussed its dissatisfaction with the Roadless Rule and highlighted its rejection of the Roadless Rule's 'inflexible one-size-fits-all nationwide rulemaking approach.' 70 Fed.Reg. at 25,656." The Ninth Circuit reviewed the agency's last attempt to substitute a state-by-state framework for the national rule and found it deficient. The agency has already acknowledged that local decision-making can incrementally reduce nationally significant roadless values. This proposal needs to address how it avoids the same deficiencies the Ninth Circuit identified, and what prevents the same incremental erosion of the roadless values found across the 64 inventoried roadless areas Virginia alone contains. Finally, the proposal claims the 2001 rule exceeded the agency's statutory authority. The Tenth Circuit addressed that claim directly and held otherwise. The court stated: "Exercising jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. Section 1291, we REVERSE the district court's order granting Plaintiffs declaratory relief and issuing a permanent injunction, and REMAND the case for the district court to vacate the permanent injunction." The Tenth Circuit found the 2001 rule was within the authority Congress granted under the Organic Act and the Multiple-Use Sustained-Yield Act and did not create de facto wilderness. The agency's current position implies a different legal conclusion. I ask that it state plainly what the basis for that contrary position is, and how it accounts for the Tenth Circuit's holding. Across the Southern region, which includes Virginia, 378 municipal water intakes sit in watersheds containing affected roadless areas. The roadless areas in the George Washington National Forest protect that water. The economic analysis cannot establish a net benefit. The agency's own data show roads increase ignition risk. The courts upheld the rule's legal foundation. The agency should withdraw this proposal. Sincerely, Jared Foeppel Reston, VA