Comment Analysis · Docket FS-2025-0001

FS-2025-0001-601356

Opposes rescissionA1 strongSubstance 16/24Owed an answerPosted October 7, 2026 On Regulations.gov

In short: The comment documents that the agency's proposal to rescind the Roadless Area Conservation Rule contradicts its own DEIS findings on wildfire risk and legal precedents regarding statutory authority, while failing to justify the rescission based on specific burdens not already covered by existing rule exceptions or to properly assess the economic impact on small businesses.

Scored directly — The comment's whole text was scored on its own.

Scorecard

Each dimension is scored 0–3; the eight sum to the substance score out of 24.

Specific placeNames a specific location — from a region down to an exact creek, trail, road, or map reference.
Local knowledgeDraws on a first-hand connection to the place — visits, sustained activity, occupation, or a professional role.
EA analysisEngages the agency's environmental analysis directly.
Analytical gapIdentifies something the analysis fails to address.
EvidenceBacks claims with specific facts, data, or research.
RequestMakes a specific, actionable request of the agency.
AlternativeProposes a different course of action.
LegalCites statutes, regulations, or legal obligations.

How hard it is to set aside

A1 strong: Must be answered — it names the law.

Owed an answer on Analytical gap, Evidence, Legal.

Standard dismissals it defeats

Already addressed The agency says its analysis already covers the point. Defeated when the comment cites the law itself: there is no analysis to cite against a statutory claim.
Misreads the proposal The agency says the comment misunderstands what is proposed. Defeated when the comment engages the proposal or a named place directly.
No cause and effect shown The agency says the comment asserts a harm without showing how the action causes it. Defeated when the comment shows the mechanism.
Outside the scope The agency says the comment asks about a different action. Defeated when the comment is specific and tied to this proposal.
Certified not substantive The agency certifies the comment raises nothing substantive. Defeated when the comment alleges illegality, which is substantive by the definition the certification runs on.

Still open to the agency

Alternative already eliminated The agency says it considered and eliminated the alternative the comment proposes, with a reason. Cannot be defeated from the comment text alone.
Deferred to a later decision The agency says the point belongs to a later, site-specific decision. Cannot be defeated from the comment text alone.
Not required The agency says the analysis the comment asks for is not required. Cannot be defeated from the comment text alone.
Preference noted The agency notes the comment as a statement of preference and takes no action on it. Cannot be defeated from the comment text alone.

Topics

Forest Management Wildfire
- “Building a road into a forest at high risk from uncharacteristic wildfire effects could increase the incidence of human-caused fires”
- “A human-caused wildland fire is nearly five times more likely to occur on essentially roaded lands than on essentially unroaded lands”
- “The proposal offers wildfire management as a justification for rescission, while the agency's own draft environmental impact statement records the opposite”
Legal Regulatory Framework
- “The proposal also argues that the 2001 rule exceeded the agency's statutory authority”
- “The Tenth Circuit stated: 'Exercising jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. Section 1291, we REVERSE the district court's order'”
- “The agency has not explained what has changed in the law since that ruling”
Water Quality Quantity
- “1,466 municipal water intakes sit in watersheds containing affected roadless areas”
- “Runoff into the Truckee from logging in the basin would be a disaster”
- “clean water from these drainages is not a burden, it is the point”
Recreation Tourism Public Use
- “They draw millions of outdoor lovers now, an economic force that was a trickle when I moved here and is a major driver today”
- “lost recreation benefit at a minimum of $6.1 million a year”
- “DEIS names outfitters, guides, and tour operators as affected parties”

What it names

National Forests: Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit
Roadless areas: Mt. Rose RoadlessRose - GalenaRose - SummitRose - Whites Canyon
Law cited: 28 U.S.C. Section 1291 36 C.F.R. Section 294.12

The comment

Shaded passages are the ones the analysis quoted as evidence for a dimension: Specific placeLocal knowledgeEA analysisAnalytical gapEvidenceRequest

Re: Rescission of the Roadless Area Conservation Rule, Docket FS-2025-0001 The roadless areas around Mt. Rose have been part of my life for 35 years. I have hiked with others and camped in or near Rose - Galena, Rose - Whites Canyon, Rose - Summit, and the Mt. Rose roadless area in the Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit. I have paddled Lake Tahoe, a world-renowned treasure, and I have been privileged to spot the quite unique band-tailed pigeon in these mountains, along with grouse and other upland species. These places, the Galena drainage, White's Creek drainage, and the Mt. Rose summit country, make northwest Nevada unique. They draw millions of outdoor lovers now, an economic force that was a trickle when I moved here and is a major driver today. I am filing this comment to oppose the rescission of the 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule, Docket FS-2025-0001. We have already seen wildfire in the Toiyabe up close, human caused as the population grows. The agency's own data on fire should stop this proposal The DEIS states: "Building a road into a forest at high risk from uncharacteristic wildfire effects could increase the incidence of human-caused fires. A human-caused wildland fire is nearly five times more likely to occur on essentially roaded lands than on essentially unroaded lands." The proposal offers wildfire management as a justification for rescission, while the agency's own draft environmental impact statement records the opposite. The Humboldt-Toiyabe is the largest national forest in the lower 48, scattered across mountain ranges rising from the Great Basin desert, each roadless range a sky island with its own ecology, its own water, its own wildlife. Roads into that terrain, according to the agency's own finding, multiply the chance of ignition. I ask the agency to explain why the proposal departs from its own prior findings on fire occurrence and to reconcile the rescission with DEIS Table 21, which reports far higher fire density on roaded land than inside these roadless areas. The proposal also argues that the 2001 rule exceeded the agency's statutory authority. A federal appellate court already answered that question. Exercising its jurisdiction, the Tenth Circuit stated: "Exercising jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. Section 1291, we REVERSE the district court's order granting Plaintiffs declaratory relief and issuing a permanent injunction, and REMAND the case for the district court to vacate the permanent injunction." That court held the rule was within the authority Congress granted and did not create de facto wilderness. The agency has not explained what has changed in the law since that ruling. I ask the agency to address the Tenth Circuit's holding and explain the legal basis for any contrary position it now takes. The rule already permits what the agency says it cannot do. The agency's own description states: "It generally banned road building subject to limited exceptions including: the preservation of 'reserved or outstanding rights' or discretionary Forest Service construction necessary for public health and safety. 36 C.F.R. Section 294.12(b)(1),(3)." The proposal cites permitting and administrative burden as reasons to rescind the rule entirely, but the rule as written already carves out exceptions for public health and safety, existing mineral leases, and community wildfire protection. The agency has not identified which specific burdens fall outside those exceptions. Nevada holds 316 inventoried roadless areas totaling 3,186,206 acres, and the Humboldt-Toiyabe alone holds 354 inventoried roadless areas totaling 3,383,849 acres. Across the Intermountain region, 1,466 municipal water intakes sit in watersheds containing affected roadless areas. Runoff into the Truckee from logging in the basin would be a disaster, and clean water from these drainages is not a burden, it is the point. The agency must identify, with specificity and on the record, which burdens are not already addressed by the rule's existing exceptions. Finally, the agency certified no significant impact on small entities while its own Cost Benefit Analysis records lost recreation benefit at a minimum of $6.1 million a year and its own DEIS names outfitters, guides, and tour operators as affected parties. . That is not a regulatory flexibility analysis; it is an averaging exercise designed to obscure the real harm. Much of the U.S. is still scarred by logging for the benefit of a few, while the many who depend on intact forests for their livelihoods and their lives are left with the damage. The agency should withdraw the certification and assess the actual impact on the small businesses operating within the potentially affected roadless areas. Sincerely, Susan Juetten Carson City, Nevada