FS-2025-0001-605393

Revision of submission Comment Tracking Number mux-agkz-hkuv. I added different language to my original comment. Thank you! I am respectfully writing in support of Alternative 1 – No Action (2001 Roadless Rule stays in place). I oppose any proposal to partially or fully rescind the Roadless Area Conservation Rule. My family lives in a state with no Roadless Rule areas and minimal places to go where a person can see and hear nothing but intact nature free from human development. To experience pristine, untouched lands that we love, we must travel. Oregon holds thousands of acres of Roadless Rule lands that we enjoy each year. It is impossible to describe how special the rivers, wildlife and forests, many being old growth, have become to us. The scent of the cinnamon/vanilla bark that protects the Ponderosa is a welcoming, calming scent every time I step out of the vehicle after a long trip to Oregon. Everything in these areas works together to create a sanctuary for living things. Humans need these wild places as much as the wildlife and plant life that make up these landscapes do. I oppose new roads in these areas as roads increase logging, mining/development, increase wildfire risks, habitat/ecosystem degradation, and cutoff routes for wildlife migration. There is no replacing these areas once they are destroyed. I am just an ordinary citizen. While I am sure my contribution in the form of this comment will fall far below what these areas deserve from me, it is my humble attempt to implore you to please keep these areas intact and protected by supporting Alterative 1 – No Action. •I ask the USDA to retain or strengthen the protections and standards in the current 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule. This rule helps protect rivers, water quality and wildlife as well as climate mitigation and helps retain current riparian measures. DellaSala, D.A., Karr, J.R., & Olson, D.M. (2011). Roadless areas and clean water. Journal of Soil and Water Conservation, 66(3): 78A–84A. doi.org/10.2489/jswc.66.3.78A Ellison, D., et al. (2017). Trees, forests and water: Cool insights for a hot world. Global Environmental Change, 43: 51–61. doi.org/10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2017.01.002 Standard reference on forest–water interactions and moisture recycling. •The Roadless Area Conservation Rule helps to protect old growth trees as many of the Roadless Rule areas contain tress that are larger than 21” in diameter. The 21” Rule, prohibiting logging of tress over 20” in diameter, along with the current Roadless Rule, protects Old Growth forests and the ecosystems contained within. This helps with climate mitigation, forest ecosystem health and water quality in and downstream from Roadless Areas. Mildrexler, D.J., et al. (2023). Protect large trees for climate mitigation, biodiversity, and forest resilience. Conservation Science and Practice. doi.org/10.1111/csp2.12944 Mildrexler, D.J., et al. (2020). Large trees dominate carbon storage in forests east of the Cascade crest in the United States Pacific Northwest. Frontiers in Forests and Global Change. Watson, J.E.M., et al. (2018). The exceptional value of intact forest ecosystems. Nature Ecology & Evolution. doi.org/10.1038/s41559-018-0490-x Law, B.E., et al. (2022). Strategic Reserves in Oregon’s Forests for Biodiversity, Water, and Carbon to Mitigate and Adapt to Climate Change. Frontiers in Forests and Global Change. frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/ffgc.2022.1028401/full •The Roadless Area Conservation Rule has helped protect against wildfires. The majority of wildfires begin near areas NOT protected by the current Roadless Rule as a study by the Pacific Biodiversity Institute showed that over 90% of wildfires started within half a mile of a road. https://www.pacificbio.org/publications/wildfire_studies/Roads_And_Wildfires_2007.pdf •The current Roadless Rule not only protects the lakes, streams and rivers that we and wildlife enjoy while out in nature, it also provides clean drinking water for over 25 million Americans. Protecting rivers is important for water quality and also the surround ecosystems. Protecting the rivers means to also protect the habitat that surrounds them. Through the Roadless Rule, 80,000 miles of rivers receive some kind of protections, with close to 62,000 miles only finding protection through the Roadless Rule alone. https://journals.plos.org/water/article?id=10.1371/journal.pwat.0000538 . Liu, N., et al. (2022). Quantifying the role of National Forest System and other forested lands in providing surface drinking water supply for the conterminous United States. USDA Forest Service Again, this is an attempt by an ordinary American, who is very much desperately, urging you to protect our public lands. Please join those that came before us in protecting these places. Stand up for public lands and the many millions who love them by supporting Alternative 1 – No Action.