FS-2025-0001-590775

October 6, 2026 Director, Ecosystem Management Coordination U.S. Forest Service U.S. Department of Agriculture 201 14th Street SW, Mailstop 1108 Washington, DC 20250-1124 Re: Proposed Rescission of the 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule Docket No. FS-2025-0001 / RIN 0596-AD66 Dear Director: I strongly oppose the proposed rescission of the 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule. This rule protects roughly 45 million acres of largely undeveloped National Forest land. Eliminating those protections nationwide is an unnecessarily broad response to concerns about wildfire, forest health, and local management flexibility. I support responsible forest management where genuine wildfire risks, insect damage, disease, or hazardous fuel conditions exist. But those problems should be addressed through targeted, scientifically justified action in specific areas, not by removing national protections from tens of millions of acres. Roadless areas protect far more than scenery. They safeguard watersheds, drinking water, wildlife habitat, recreation, hunting and fishing opportunities, intact ecosystems, and large areas of public land that are increasingly difficult to replace. New road construction can also create its own long-term problems, including erosion, sedimentation, habitat fragmentation, invasive species, increased human access, and permanent maintenance costs. Once an intact roadless landscape is fragmented, the damage may be impossible to fully reverse. The Forest Service has argued that greater flexibility is needed to address wildfire risk. If a particular roadless area presents a documented danger to nearby communities, then the agency should identify that area, explain the risk, evaluate alternatives, and allow the public to review the proposed action. A problem in one forest should not become the justification for removing protections from roadless lands across the entire country. This proposal is especially significant because rescinding the rule would remove a nationwide safeguard and leave future roadbuilding, timber, and other management decisions to more localized processes. That could lead to decades of piecemeal development across landscapes Americans have long expected to remain substantially undeveloped. Our National Forests are public lands. Their value cannot be measured only by timber production, road access, or short-term economic development. Their value also lies in the clean water they protect, wildlife they sustain, recreation they provide, and natural landscapes they preserve for future generations. I respectfully urge USDA and the U.S. Forest Service to: Withdraw the proposed rescission of the Roadless Rule. Retain national protections for inventoried roadless areas. Address wildfire and forest-health concerns through targeted, science-based management. Require meaningful environmental review and public participation before significant changes are made to individual roadless areas. America does not have to choose between forest management and conservation. We can protect communities from wildfire while still protecting the nation’s remaining undeveloped National Forest lands. Bottom Line is......Please keep the 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule in place. Respectfully submitted, Roger Brokaw 245 Venetian Gdns Gulfport, Mississippi 39507 snglr@aol.com