To provide that the final rule titled "Special Areas; Roadless Area Conservation" and issued on January 12, 2001 (66 Fed. Reg. 3244) shall have no force or effect and require the Secretary of Agriculture to construct certain roads on National Forest System lands, and for other purposes.
Summary
What This Bill Does
This bill provides that the Department of Agriculture's January 12, 2001 Roadless Area Conservation final rule has no force or effect. It also prohibits the Secretary of Agriculture from proposing, finalizing, implementing, administering, or enforcing any substantially similar rule.
The bill then directs the Secretary, acting through the Chief of the Forest Service and subject to applicable environmental requirements including NEPA, to construct permanent and temporary roads on National Forest System lands when the Secretary determines the roads are necessary for Forest Service restoration activities, hazardous fuels reduction in at-risk communities, the wildland-urban interface, or municipal watersheds, replacement or decommissioning of existing roads harming forest, rangeland, or watershed health, or purposes under the 1897 Organic Act.
Who Benefits and How
Forest Service restoration crews benefit from more road authority for restoration, hazardous fuels, and road replacement work. At-risk communities, wildland-urban interface areas, and municipal watersheds may benefit if road access supports fuels reduction and emergency management. Timber, road construction, and forest restoration contractors benefit from expanded opportunities to build, replace, or decommission roads on National Forest System lands.
Who Bears the Burden and How
Forest Service land managers must identify needed roads, comply with environmental requirements, and manage construction, replacement, or decommissioning work. Roadless area conservation advocates and recreation users seeking undeveloped forest protection bear a policy loss because the 2001 roadless rule would have no effect. National Forest ecosystems may face increased road-building disturbance where roads are constructed.
Key Provisions
- Nullifies the 2001 Roadless Area Conservation final rule.
- Prohibits the Secretary of Agriculture from proposing, finalizing, implementing, administering, or enforcing substantially similar rules.
- Requires Forest Service road construction for restoration activities when the Secretary determines roads are necessary.
- Requires road construction for hazardous fuels reduction in at-risk communities, wildland-urban interface areas, and municipal watersheds.
- Authorizes road replacement or decommissioning when existing roads harm forest, rangeland, or watershed health.
- Applies the road construction directive subject to NEPA and other applicable environmental requirements.
- Defines at-risk community, wildland-urban interface, and National Forest System.
Evidence Chain:
This summary is generated from the full bill text using AI analysis. Expand "Detailed Analysis" below for identified beneficiaries/burden bearers with clause-level evidence links.
At a Glance
What This Bill Does
Nullifies the 2001 Roadless Area Conservation rule, bars substantially similar future rules, and directs the Forest Service to construct permanent and temporary roads on National Forest System lands for restoration, hazardous fuels reduction, road replacement or decommissioning, and Organic Act purposes.
Key Policy Areas
National Forests, Roadless Areas, Forest Service, Wildfire Mitigation, NEPA
Primary Purpose
Nullifies the 2001 Roadless Area Conservation rule, bars substantially similar future rules, and directs the Forest Service to construct permanent and temporary roads on National Forest System lands for restoration, hazardous fuels reduction, road replacement or decommissioning, and Organic Act purposes.
Policy Domains
Section 1 roadless rule nullification and Forest Service road construction
Identified Gains
- Forest Service restoration crews
- At-risk communities near National Forest System lands
- Wildland-urban interface communities
- Forest road construction contractors
- Timber industry contractors
Identified Costs
- Forest Service land managers
- Roadless area conservation organizations
- National Forest recreation users
- National Forest ecosystem resources
Sponsors
Legislative Progress
In CommitteeSubcommittee Hearings Held
Referred to the Subcommittee on Federal Lands.
Referred to the Committee on Agriculture, and in addition to …
Introduced in House
Ms. Hageman (for herself, Mr. Downing, Ms. Maloy, Mr. Stauber, …
Stakeholder Effects
cui bono?How this legislation distributes effects. Mention counts reflect frequency, not effect magnitude.
Forest Service land managers, Forest Service restoration crews
Positive-direction: Forest Service restoration crews
Negative-direction: Forest Service land managers
At-risk communities near National Forest System lands
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
- "secretary"
- → Secretary of Agriculture
- "forest_service"
- → Chief of the Forest Service
Key Definitions
Terms defined in this bill
The term has the meaning given in section 101 of the Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003.
The term has the meaning given in section 101 of the Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003.
The term has the meaning given in section 11(a) of the Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources Planning Act of 1974.
We use a combination of our own taxonomy and classification in addition to large language models to assess meaning and potential beneficiaries. High confidence means strong textual evidence. Always verify with the original bill text.
Learn more about our methodology