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Dear Secretary Rollins,
I am a human, and a part of nature. I want a sustainable future which includes clean water.
Rescission will mean I lose a sense of freedom. This is truly an area I feel connected, grounded, and free. That is because of the quiet, the wildlife, the trees, and the mountains.
It also impacts more than one spot. Rescinding the Roadless Rule means an increase in fire danger and negative impacts to water quality, both of which are of high importance.
Regarding the Dome Peak in the Routt NF, Colorado:
Although proponents of rolling back the Roadless Rule claim it is needed for wildfire management, the peer-reviewed science shows the opposite. A 2026 study in Fire Ecology by Aplet, Hartger & Dietz analyzed 32 years of wildfire data across all eight contiguous-U.S. Forest Service regions and found wildfire-ignition density was 7.99 fires per 1,000 hectares within 50 meters of roads, compared to just 1.97 fires per 1,000 hectares in inventoried roadless areas—a fourfold difference. A separate national analysis (Balch et al., PNAS 2017) found that 84% of all U.S. wildfires are human-caused. Roads are the primary vector for human ignitions, so building roads into roadless areas is likely to result in more fires, not fewer.
The U.S. National Forests are the headwaters of our great rivers and the largest source of municipal water supply in the nation. According to DellaSala (2011), national forests supply drinking water to at least 124 million people in more than 3,400 communities across 33 states—roughly a third of all national-forest runoff originates in inventoried roadless areas. Roads are a major cause of water pollution: erosion rates from logging roads have been documented as much as 850% higher than from undisturbed forest. Because the 2001 Roadless Rule protects these headwaters, it is vital for maintaining clean drinking water for communities across the country. Major U.S. cities including Los Angeles, Portland, Denver, and Atlanta receive a significant portion of their water supply from national forests.
“Analysis of 32 years of wildfire data across all eight contiguous-U.S. Forest Service regions found wildfire-ignition density was 7.99 fires per 1,000 hectares within 50 meters of roads versus just 1.97 fires per 1,000 hectares in inventoried roadless areas—a fourfold difference. Ignition density decreased steadily as distance from roads increased, irrespective of designation. The study concludes that "building roads into roadless areas is likely to result in more fires." — Aplet et al., 2026 (https://doi.org/10.1186/s42408-026-00450-2)”
“A national analysis of two decades of wildfire data found that human-started wildfires accounted for 84% of all wildfires, tripled the length of the fire season, and were responsible for nearly half of all area burned. Because roads are the primary vector for human ignitions, the finding directly bears on the wildfire consequences of opening roadless areas to road construction. — Balch et al., 2017 (https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1617394114)”
“Foundational environmental analysis documenting 58.5 million roadless area acres and comprehensive effects on soils, water, fish/wildlife, and socioeconomics. Core scientific record behind the Roadless Rule. — (2000/2001) (https://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/stelprdb5057900.pdf)”
These are public lands. Keep them whole.
Respectfully submitted,
CommentID: RLC-20261005-ZWI59Q