Re: Rescission of the Roadless Area Conservation Rule, Docket FS-2025-0001
I am writing in opposition to the proposal to fully or partially rescind the Roadless Area Conservation Rule. My name is Ben Van Der Kar, I live in Carpinteria, CA and work as an avocado grower. I hold a Volunteer Service Agreement with the Ojai Ranger District of the Los Padres National Forest as an official volunteer of the district, helping provide reports on the condition of trails, campsites and forest service roads and also helping to lead volunteer trail maintenance events.
Through my passion for the well-being of our shared public lands, I also play a lead role in several local volunteer trail organizations including the Ojai Get it Done Crew, Los Padres Forest Association, Montecito Trails Foundation, and SAGE Trail Alliance. Additionally, I am part of the ambassador team of stewards for Bikepacking Roots, a national non-profit committed to bikepacking access, education, and route stewardship.
In my area, the Roadless Rule provides valuable protections that help preserve the rural, undisturbed nature of the landscape while also helping protect water quality, habitat, and unique recreational opportunities that can only be found in roadless areas. Wildfire mitigation and risk reduction is another huge benefit offered by areas protected by the roadless rule, as countless studies have demonstrated that the presence of roads inherently increases wildfire risk.
Moreover, there is a growing understanding of the cognitive benefits that come from being able to recreate in areas free from roads and development and yet sadly, such places are increasingly limited and thus, increasingly important to preserve. From my backyard, I look up at several Roadless Areas, namely the White Ledge and Sespe-Frazier RA's of the Los Padres National Forest. These are special areas whose character is greatly defined by the absence of roads and infrastructure. They are home to important plant and animal species, they offer incredibly unique recreation opportunities, they safeguard habitat, clean air and water, and they serve as critical buffer zones for some of our local wilderness areas such as the Sespe Wilderness and the Dick Smith.
I have observed the Forest Service have an increasingly difficult time in maintaining the current network of roads and trails and I'm not in favor of any additional roads being created when there is such a backlog of maintenance resulting in unsafe conditions for hikers, bikers, hunters and all who recreate in roadless areas.
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. On behalf of my local trails community and the constituents of Bikepacking Roots, Los Padres Forest Association, Montecito Trails Foundation and SAGE Trail Alliance, I adamantly oppose the proposal to rescind or alter the Roadless Rule," and support "Alternative 1, the No Action alternative."
Thank you for your consideration of this very important matter.
Signed,
Ben Van Der Kar
Tuesday, October 6th - 2026