FS-2025-0001-608181

As I look at pictures from the late 1800's, I am shocked that such destruction and devastation to our forests and rivers was ever allowed, and that it was perceived as progress and advancement. The Homestead Act of 1862 and subsequent land laws, like the Timber Culture Act of 1873, drove massive logging and deforestation across the American West. While the laws were intended to encourage settlement and agricultural development, they also created opportunities for lumber companies and speculators to exploit forested lands and cut down some of the most incredible and majestic forests on our planet. Giant Sequoias along with soft wood conifers like White pine, Douglas fir, Long leaf pine and Ponderosa pine were lost to this destruction and logging. These forests have never recovered from this horrific mass deforestation. The Roadless rule was implemented in 2001 to protect 58.5 million acres of national forest land by prohibiting road construction, reconstruction, and timber harvesting. This rule is one of the most important and most valued in the history of the USDA. With more than 1.6 million public comments, this is a historic landmark for any rule in the U.S. Of all the comments received, 95% of the comments were in support of keeping roadless protections in place. The Forest Service's FY26 budget slashes agency funding by more than 60%, and it zeroes out funding for Wildland Fire Management. This is basically stating that wildfire risk management is not their top priority and that they plan to give more power to individual states to decide on logging and land use. Wildfire management has been proven to be more effective in areas with less or no roads. One major reason for this is human access: roads have been linked with most forest fires because they enable human access and the majority of wildfires are human-caused. They also increase ladder fuel with the greater amount of dry, flammable vegetation near the road, and alter micro-climates to be hotter and windier, which also facilitates fire ignition and spread. The importance of having pristine and untouched forests, rivers and streams is beyond what humans can imagine. The value of life itself lies in these places. There is a plethora of wildlife and organisms that depend on these forests, streams and clean rivers. We cannot keep appeasing logging, timber and electric companies to destroy our only habitat for profit and margins. We need to protect and value our ecosystem and stop corporations from destroying our forests and watersheds through ruthless exploitation and extraction of natural resources. I strongly oppose rescinding the 2001 Roadless Rule. We need to keep strong protections in place and the agency needs to respect public opinion. The agency also needs to conduct a complete and thorough environmental analysis and secure that no watersheds will be damaged. The public wants to keep our public lands protected and untouched. Our future generations depend on your duty to protect our forests and rivers! Important links attached to my comments: Science on roads fragmenting the landscape: https://conbio.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1046/j.1523-1739.1996.10041098.x Current rule in place: https://www.federalregister.gov/d/01-726/p-395 Forest Service FY26 budget: https://www.fs.usda.gov/sites/default/files/fs-fy26-congressional-budget-justification.pdf