Sponsors
The bill shifts Forest Service focus and resources toward wildfire risk reduction, water protection, habitat conservation, and limiting permanent road development—improving safety, habitat, and touring experiences for many, but concentrating costs and attention that may delay other services, restrict access for some landowners and communities, and consume public funds.
Residents in wildfire-prone rural communities will see wildfire risk reduction prioritized, lowering risk to homes and communities through focused fuels treatments and related actions.
Downstream communities and local governments will benefit from higher-priority maintenance and improvement of drinking water resources on Forest Service lands, protecting water supplies.
Forest health and productivity will be preserved for timber-dependent communities and wildlife by emphasizing scientifically sound stewardship and actions to reduce insect and disease infestations.
Redirecting limited Forest Service staff to prioritized tasks could delay other services (e.g., timber permitting, outreach), reducing services available to local governments and rural communities.
Prioritization could reduce research and monitoring in non-prioritized areas, weakening long-term science that informs management decisions and affecting resource-dependent communities and researchers.
Restrictions on permanent access and bans on using federal funds for year‑round roads may limit development options and delay or prevent road improvements that some local residents, businesses, and governments want for safer year‑round access.
Based on analysis of 3 sections of legislative text.
Introduced March 24, 2026 by Michael F. Bennet · Last progress March 24, 2026
Prohibits construction or authorization of a utility corridor or a year-round road across specified federal parcels in the White River National Forest in Colorado, bars federal funds to create such access to a named 680-acre private parcel, and directs the Secretary of Agriculture to prioritize acquiring that parcel from willing sellers and incorporate it into the National Forest for conservation and public use if acquired. The law also records findings about recent Forest Service staffing losses and declines in fuels reduction, trails maintenance, and science capacity, and requires a report to Congressional committees within 180 days on efforts to acquire the parcel.