I firmly believe that Alternative 1 (no rescission of the Roadless Rule) is the best option for the American public as it preserves roadless areas, maintains wildlife habitat, and enhances outdoor recreation. Over the last 15 years I have worked for the Forest Service across 3 national forests as a Hydrologist (I am submitting this comment anonymously for fear of retribution). There are approximately 370,000 miles of roads across the national forest system, the vast majority of which are in a deteriorated condition, and I have observed sediment deposits in streams and wetlands from unmaintained roads. The USDA claims that increased road building is necessary to reduce wildfire activity by allowing for fuel reduction projects. This is a misguided theory, as analysis by the Forest Service itself found that 90% of wildfires start within 0.5 miles of a road, and that only 3% begin within roadless areas. More roads = more cars = more sparks, abandoned campfires, and discarded lit cigarette butts. I was evacuated for 18 days during the 2021 Caldor Fire on the Eldorado National Forest, which was caused from target shooting along a Forest Service road. I worked as a fire fighter, resource advisor, and burned area emergency response Hydrologist. There were roadless areas located within the fire perimeter, but in no way did a lack of roads impact fire fighting abilities as other roads were located nearby.
I am an avid outdoor recreationist and spend countless hours hiking, backpacking, mountain biking, and skiing across Forest Service lands, the majority of which occur in roadless areas. Constructing roads in these areas would negatively impact these activities. I hiked the entire Pacific Crest Trail, and there are 63 roadless areas along 288 miles of the PCT in California, Oregon and Washington. Loss of these roadless areas would negatively impact my experience due to noise pollution, dust, and habitat fragmentation. I currently live within the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, which generates millions of dollars in visitors coming to the area to view wildlife and fish in blue-ribbon streams, both of which would be negatively impacted by constructing additional roads. The money generated from outdoor recreation far exceeds any potential increase in money that would be generated with logging, the vast majority of which would not go into the local economy. I just spent the last 8 days backpacking in the Crazy Mountains of Montana (north of Livingston, MT), which already has a dense road network. Constructing roads in the roadless areas of this mountain range would have negatively impacted my experience.
In summary - there are already an abundance of roads across the national forest system, the vast majority of which are in terrible condition and generating excessive sediment that is negatively impacting water quality, and construction of new roads would lead to increased human-caused wildfires and degradation of outdoor recreational experiences. Please do the responsible thing for the American public and DO NOT repeal the roadless rule.