Prohibits the Secretary of Agriculture (acting through the Chief of the Forest Service) from allowing road construction, road reconstruction, or commercial logging in inventoried roadless areas where those activities are banned under the existing Roadless Rule. The law affirms that inventoried roadless areas should be protected to conserve watersheds, wildlife, recreation opportunities, and sites sacred to Native and other groups while operating within the Forest Service’s multiple‑use management framework.
There is a compelling need to establish national protection for inventoried roadless areas of the National Forest System to protect their unique social and ecological values.
Roadless areas provide the setting for many forms of outdoor recreation.
Roadless areas help ensure a supply of clean water for domestic, agricultural, and industrial uses.
Roadless areas provide drinking water to tens of millions of citizens of the United States.
Roadless areas help maintain abundant and healthy fish and wildlife populations and habitats.
Primary impacts: National Forests designated as inventoried roadless areas will retain statutory protection against road building and commercial logging where the Roadless Rule already prohibits those activities. This strengthens protections for watersheds, wildlife habitat, and sites important for recreation and for Native and other communities that hold cultural or spiritual ties to those lands. Local economies that depend on outdoor recreation and tourism are likely to see reinforced long‑term benefits from preserved roadless landscapes; communities and businesses dependent on commercial timber harvest within those specific inventoried roadless areas could face reduced opportunities where the Roadless Rule bans such activity. The Forest Service must implement and uphold those prohibitions during land management decisions, potentially reducing administrative options for salvage logging, road projects, or timber sales in affected areas. Overall, the law narrows a set of permitted management actions in inventoried roadless areas without creating new funding or programmatic requirements, leaving most other National Forest management tools unchanged.
Last progress June 11, 2025 (8 months ago)
Introduced on June 11, 2025 by Andrea Salinas
Referred to the Committee on Agriculture, and in addition to the Committee on Natural Resources, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
Updated 1 hour ago
Last progress June 11, 2025 (8 months ago)
