Sponsors (5)
Introduced February 25, 2026 by Harriet Hageman · Last progress February 25, 2026
This bill prioritizes building and authorizing roads to speed forest restoration and reduce wildfire risk near communities, but does so by weakening long-standing roadless protections and raising environmental, water-quality, governance, and fiscal risks.
Communities in the wildland-urban interface (homes, small towns) gain improved access for hazardous fuels reduction, lowering local wildfire risk to people and property.
Forest Service restoration projects can be implemented more quickly because roads needed for restoration work are required to be built, accelerating erosion control, forest treatments, and emergency response access.
Forest managers are allowed to replace or decommission existing roads that harm forest, rangeland, or watershed health, which can improve ecosystem function and downstream water resources.
The bill rolls back Roadless Rule protections, allowing new road construction in previously protected areas and increasing risks of habitat fragmentation, loss of wilderness character, and harm to recreation and biodiversity.
New road construction and expanded access may increase sedimentation and degrade water quality for downstream communities and municipal watersheds, raising public-health and infrastructure treatment costs.
Prohibiting any similar future rule removes a regulatory tool for conserving undeveloped forest areas, limiting future policy options to protect roadless lands and long-term preservation goals.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Cancels the 2001 Roadless Area rule and requires the Forest Service to build roads as needed for restoration, fuels reduction, road replacement/decommissioning, and 1897 Act purposes, subject to environmental laws.
Nullifies the Forest Service’s 2001 Roadless Area Conservation rule and bars the Secretary of Agriculture from issuing any substantially similar rule. It directs the Forest Service, consistent with environmental laws such as NEPA, to construct permanent and temporary roads on National Forest System lands when needed to support restoration work, reduce hazardous fuels near at‑risk communities and the wildland‑urban interface, replace or decommission roads that harm forest or watershed health, or carry out long‑standing forest management purposes under the 1897 law.