This bill would cancel the 2001 "Special Areas; Roadless Area Conservation" rule so that the rule would have no force or effect. It would also bar the Secretary of Agriculture from making or enforcing any new rule that is substantially similar to that 2001 rule.
The bill directs the Secretary, acting through the Chief of the Forest Service, to build permanent and temporary roads on National Forest System lands when the Secretary decides those roads are necessary. Road construction must follow all applicable environmental requirements, including the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).
The bill lists specific purposes for which roads must be built: to carry out Forest Service restoration activities; to carry out hazardous fuels reduction activities in at-risk communities, the wildland-urban interface, or a municipal watershed; to replace or decommission any existing permanent road that the Secretary determines is harming a forest, rangeland, or watershed; or to carry out the intent of the Act of June 4, 1897 (16 U.S.C. 473–482, 551). It defines "at-risk community" and "wildland-urban interface" by reference to the Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003, and "National Forest System" by reference to the Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources Planning Act of 1974.
If enacted, the 2001 Roadless Rule would be removed and the Forest Service would be required to construct roads on National Forest System lands when needed for the specific activities listed in the bill. Road building and related actions must follow environmental laws named in the bill.
No publicly available information on the number, locations, or timing of roads to be built is provided in the bill text or metadata.
No publicly available information on costs or budgetary effects appears in the bill text or the provided metadata.
No publicly available information on supporters' stated reasons or arguments appears in the bill text or the provided metadata.
No publicly available information on opponents' stated reasons or arguments appears in the bill text or the provided metadata.