Roadless Rule Public Comment

I’ve been procrastinating about writing my public comment to advocate for the protection of the Roadless Rule. I care deeply but I’ve found myself at a loss for words to describe in simple terms why because I am not a big outdoor enthusiast or naturalist. I’m not sure I’ve ever been on BLM or Forest Service Land and I’ve definitely never seen first hand a Roadless Area.  I do understand why Roadless Areas are critical and I do believe they must be protected so this morning, on the second to last day to submit, I finally finished my comment.  I’m sharing it below in the hopes that it may provide an example for someone else to create your own comment. Many thanks to @science_visuals and @nationalparkhistory and @ben.a.goldfarb for supplying the inspiration, information and encouragement.  I could not have done it without your support and advocacy. 

My name is Sheila Metcalf Tobin.  I am an artist and full time community college art instructor. I am the descendant of working class people both in civil and military service and farmers. I learned the importance of land and the care and keeping of land from these people. They taught me to bring my awareness to the physical characteristics of the land and its inhabitants. I have carried this teaching with me throughout my life, and it has brought me many moments of joy and wonder. It has also occasionally brought moments of sadness and dismay.

Over the course of my adult life I have had several profound encounters with animal deaths driving our nation's highway systems. It was the last of these encounters on Highway 5 in northern California that led me to discover a book called Crossings,  How Road Ecology is Shaping the Future of Our Planet by Ben Goldfarb. In his book, Ben recounts the origin story of roads in the United States and how the study of road ecology grew alongside it. He visits and works alongside scientists and citizen volunteers all over the world who work to count, collect and research animals, reptiles and insects found dead along roadsides and work to create solutions for safer passage. He also recounts the origins of Roadless Rule coming from within the US Forest Service, then led by the former chief Mike Dombeck. A brief passage from the book states “Soon after the Roadless Rule was passed, scientists calculated that it had protected more than two hundred endangered species and some of the “most biotic areas in the nation.”

I am writing to you today because I believe in the Roadless Rule and what its provisions have done over the last 25 years to protect and preserve wilderness areas, and the creatures that live within and move through them. Roadless areas also create extraordinary spaces for human recreation, like camping, hiking and backpacking, hunting and angling, wildlife viewing and photography, and many other activities. Across the US large sections of the Continental Divide, Pacific Crest, and Appalachian National Scenic trails cross protected roadless areas. We all need these wild spaces, the Earth needs these wild spaces. 

Our National Parks and Wilderness Areas are our greatest publicly held treasure. The Roadless Rule must not be rescinded. If anything is done with the Roadless Area Conservation Rule, it should be strengthened to eliminate logging and roadbuilding loopholes and provide better protection to roadless areas and adjacent Wilderness areas. 

Thank you for your time and thoughtful consideration. 

@science_visuals and @nationalparkhistory and @ben.a.goldfarb

Comments on the DEIS must be received by Tuesday, October 6 at the following link: https://www.regulations.gov/commenton/FS-2025-0001-223869