Dear Ms. Rollins,
I am an Alabamian who has lived in multiple states and countries and have recently chosen to come back to Alabama. As a birder, my home (Alabama) is a great place to observe birds. The Roadless Rule, as I have come to know it through field observation while birding rather than through statutory text, is the federal instrument most directly responsible for the population-level persistence of the species I enjoy seeing, and I write in opposition to its rescission.
The Talladega National Forest, and Reed Brake in particular, is a place close to my home, which has made it easy for me to get there to watch birds.
The last time I was there, I saw so many warblers it was incredible! There are a multitude of species, including the black-throated green, the Kentucky, the hooded, and more. They're all so beautiful and they need this habitat to survive.
Creating roads in this beautiful area would make it less likely that I would see these species there. Woods warblers, and the black-throated green warbler in particular, need large, intact tracts of forest and if roads come in, those large, intact tracts will disappear.
Regarding the Reed Brake in the Talladega National Forest, Alabama:
Every spring, the black-throated green warbler, (G5, S3B in Alabama), a long-distance neotropical migrant, completes its journey spanning continents to reach the interior forest of the Reed Brake IRA, Talladega National Forest, where they nest and raise young. Breeding-site fidelity means these birds do not simply relocate when habitat is degraded, they just don't reproduce. The Mississippi Flyway breeding function this roadless area provides is irreplaceable for every one of them.
Brown-headed cowbirds are obligate brood parasites that penetrate forest interiors along road corridors. In the Reed Brake IRA, Talladega National Forest, road construction would expose all Mississippi Flyway breeding songbird species to increased parasitism simultaneously. Cowbirds do not target one host — they parasitize every open-cup nesting species they can access, reducing reproductive output across the entire breeding community.
The DEIS must analyze the pathway by which road corridors through the Reed Brake IRA, Talladega National Forest, introduce brown-headed cowbird brood parasitism into interior forest used by Mississippi Flyway breeding songbird species. Cowbird parasitism is a documented cause of reproductive failure in every species in this assemblage. The analysis must address the community-level impact, not individual host species in isolation.
"The expansion of Brown-headed Cowbirds (Molothrus ater) and several species of noxious plants and animals is facilitated by the cleared line of sight along highways, particularly where these species had been limited by blocks of unsuitable habitat. Line of sight clearing is a safety measure that normally is a minimum of 10 m (30 ft)."
— USDA Forest Service Gen. Tech. Rep. PSW-GTR-191, 2005
I understand that the vast majority of public lands the Roadless Rule rescission would impact are in the west, not the southeast. However, I live in the southeast and the rescission is just as important to me here. Additionally, there are numerous species in the western US that would be negatively impacted just a the black-throated green warbler would be in the east. I ask the Department to weigh the record honestly and conclude, as I have, that the rule should remain.
With kind regards,
Ginger Deason
Birmingham, AL