Dear Forest Service Leadership:
As an outdoor enthusiast, I am filing these comments to observe that the proposed rescission of the 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule would not maintain the status quo — it would change it, in a direction that favors extractive uses over the landscape conditions upon which non-motorized public access depends, and that change, once initiated through road construction, cannot be undone.
Regarding the Reister Canyon in the Mendocino National Forest, California:
Ground disturbance, sedimentation, and stream crossings in roadless areas degrade drinking-water supplies and aquatic habitat downstream.
Persistence after abandonment. Road impacts on hydrology persist for decades after roads stop being used. Forest roads in northern Idaho abandoned for 30–50 years still showed an order of magnitude lower saturated hydraulic conductivity than undisturbed forest floor (Foltz et al. 2009; Trombulak & Frissell 2000). — Foltz et al., 2009 (https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2009.01.014); Trombulak & Frissell, 2000 (https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1523-1739.2000.99084.x); Frissell, 2000 (https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1523-1739.2000.99084.x); Trombulak et al., 2000 (https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1523-1739.2000.99084.x)
Rescinding the Roadless Rule would open the Reister Canyon, Mendocino National Forest to road construction and associated ground disturbance. The direct and indirect effects of that activity are precisely what makes a specific comment about this area necessary.
I want to protect the environment and prevent habitats from being destroyed.
I'm not asking for anything unusual — just that the Department leave a working protection in place. That's my comment.
With gratitude,