In short: The comment establishes that the agency's DEIS data (Table 21) contradicts the proposal's wildfire rationale by showing higher fire density on roaded lands, and that the regulatory flexibility analysis fails to account for specific local economic losses and reliance interests in the Lake and Eagle roadless areas.
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
A2 moderate: Hard to dismiss — it shows cause and effect.
Owed an answer on Analytical gap, Evidence.
Standard dismissals it defeats
- 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.
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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
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”
- “human-caused ignition density is 22.4 fires per million acres per year on roaded National Forest System land against 3.0 inside the affected roadless areas”
- “The proposal presents wildfire and fuels management as reasons to open these areas to road construction, yet the agency's own analysis describes the opposite dynamic”
- Legal Regulatory Framework
- “Under the reasoning of Encino Motorcars and Regents, an agency that changes course must grapple with the reliance interests its prior policy created”
- “The agency must identify and weigh the reliance interests expressed in the comments it receives”
- “The agency has asked for reliance interests and then provided no mechanism to weigh them”
- Economic Impact Fiscal
- “the DEIS names outfitters, guides and tour operators as affected and its own Cost Benefit Analysis books lost recreation benefit at a minimum of $6.1 million a year”
- “The agency must withdraw the no-significant-impact certification and replace it with an assessment of the small entities actually operating in the potentially affected roadless areas”
- “spreading the projected annual expenditure loss across every small firm in the sector nationally rather than examining the outfitters and guides who actually hold permits”
- Recreation Tourism Public Use
- “The Lake and Eagle roadless areas in the Mt. Hood National Forest are where I hike and camp”
- “I hike and camp in the Lake and Eagle roadless areas because the rule has protected them”
- “lost recreation benefit at a minimum of $6.1 million a year”
The comment
Shaded passages are the ones the analysis quoted as evidence for a dimension: Specific placeLocal knowledgeEA analysisAnalytical gapEvidenceRequest