FS-2025-0001-610594

I am a native Californian, and I strongly oppose the proposal to rescind the 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule. I am lucky to have grown up in a rural area near Auburn, CA with many roadless areas just up the hill in the Tahoe and El Dorado National Forests. These roadless areas protect our access to clean water that comes largely from the mountains. The North Fork American River Inventoried Roadless Area (IRA) and the North Fork Middle Fork American River IRA both protect areas upstream from my home from soil erosion, landslide risk, and sediment pollution - negative impacts that will increase if the Roadless Rule is repealed, according to the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) (p 101). These rivers run into Folsom Lake, a reservoir that provides drinking water to hundreds of thousands of residents in Sacramento and the surrounding foothills. Of course, this pattern is repeated across the entire United States, where the Roadless Rule protects drinking water for about 24 million Americans (p 121). I have recreated in and formed deep connections to 63 roadless areas in California, Oregon, and Washington while hiking the length of the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT). The PCT is a designated National Scenic Trail, one of the crown jewels of the system of trails in the United States, and attracts thousands of hikers from around the world every single year, year after year. This is a boon to the local economies of the rural towns the trail passes by, but the attraction of the trail depends on the quality of nature along it, including the 10% of the trail that goes through IRAs. The US Forest Service’s own economists agree that rescinding the Roadless Rule would cost nearby communities up to 9 million dollars per year in visitor spending, as laid out in the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) (p 223-224). This could negatively impact Julian, CA near Caliente IRA in the Cleveland National Forest; like many PCT hikers I ate several times at Mom’s Pies and stayed at the Julian Gold Rush Hotel when I passed through. Idyllwild, CA near the Pyramid Peak A IRA in the San Bernardino NF was my refuge when a storm system swept through the mountains bringing snow in April; I stayed two nights at the Fireside Inn to dry out my gear and wait out the storm which also meant splurging on breakfast, lunch and dinner at local restaurants. Big Bear, CA benefits from visitors to several nearby roadless areas including one of my favorites, Deep Creek, which has a natural hot springs that is beloved by hikers and locals alike. The Roadless Rule keeps the creek clean and the canyon it runs through intact. Wrightwood, CA is another destination for recreation, including for PCT hikers, that is nearby several roadless areas in the Angeles NF including Sheep Mountain and Pleasant View, and stands to suffer losses to its economy if the Roadless Rule is rescinded. They have an excellent general store that gets a lot of business from hikers and the summit of Mount Baden-Powell is both in their backyard and part of the Sheep Mountain IRA. Baden-Powell offers a challenge, and immersion in nature, draws day-trippers from Los Angeles, and would be severely degraded if it were logged. Green Valley, CA, near the Tule and Fish Canyon IRAs, benefits from hikers who shop at their local market and eat at the wonderful Green Valley Smokehouse. I could keep going, since I hiked through, as stated above, 63 IRAs throughout the three states. All are local treasures that draw people from around the world looking for world-class recreation in nature, and who spend on dining, lodging, guiding, equipment and more in the surrounding communities. The eastern Sierra Nevada has a number of IRAs that are near and dear to me, not just as a hiker, but as a climber as well. I climb to connect with nature, explore my physical and mental limits, experience solitude and beauty. According to the DEIS, rolling back the Roadless Rule will degrade scenery and backcountry access (p 25, 192). This could be true, for example, in the Coyote North IRA where the climbing area Little Egypt is located. I’ve been climbing and hiking in and around Bishop for 16 years now. I’ve also explored the Birch Creek IRA on trails among the ancient bristlecone pine trees. The Birch Creek IRA contains not just the oldest living trees but the world’s oldest living non-clonal organism, which is a Great Basin bristlecone pine tree that is 4858 years old. I am in awe of the natural world when I go to this place, and believe it must be protected for everyone, including future generations. When the Roadless Rule was put in place in 2001, our country was overwhelmingly in favor of the Roadless Rule. We still are. For the reasons listed above, fully or partially rescinding the Roadless Rule under Alternatives 2 and 3 of the draft EIS would be a grave mistake. I oppose the proposal to rescind or alter the Roadless Rule and support Alternative 1, the No Action alternative.