FS-2025-0001-532698

I am submitting this comment regarding the proposed rescission of the 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule. I live in North Carolina and visit Linville Gorge and the surrounding Pisgah National Forest frequently. It is one of the places in North Carolina that I return to again and again for hiking, photography, scenic drives, and simply spending time in an undeveloped mountain landscape. I am particularly concerned about what rescission could mean for the Linville Gorge Addition Inventoried Roadless Area, approximately 2,800 acres adjoining the Linville Gorge Wilderness. While I understand that rescinding the Roadless Rule would not itself authorize road construction or timber harvesting, it would remove the nationwide protections currently applicable to this area and leave future decisions more dependent on forest-level planning and individual project decisions. One of the defining characteristics of Linville Gorge is the continuity of the landscape. From places around the Chimneys, Shortoff Mountain, Table Rock, and the surrounding ridges, you can look across miles of largely unfragmented forest. That undeveloped character is a major part of why I continue to visit the area. My concern is not simply whether the congressionally designated Wilderness boundary itself remains intact. Development immediately outside that boundary can still affect the experience of the larger landscape through forest fragmentation, road construction, erosion and sedimentation, noise, and changes to viewsheds and wildlife habitat. I have attached photographs from my visits to illustrate the character of the area that I believe should be considered when evaluating the effects of changing protections for the Linville Gorge Addition and similar inventoried roadless areas. Based on my experience using this area, I support retaining protections that preserve the Linville Gorge Addition's roadless and undeveloped character. If USDA moves forward with rescission of the nationwide rule, I ask that it specifically evaluate how equivalent protections for places such as the Linville Gorge Addition would be maintained under individual forest plans and future project-level decisions. Thank you for considering my comments and the perspective of people who regularly use these National Forest lands.