[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 25 (Thursday, March 2, 2006)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1655-S1657]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Ms. CANTWELL (for herself, Mr. Bingaman, Mr. Harkin, Mr. 
        Lautenberg, Mrs. Boxer, Mr. Lieberman, Mrs. Clinton, Mr. 
        Menendez, Mr. Akaka, Mr. Dodd, and Mr. Kerry):
  S. 2364. A bill to provide lasting protection for inventoried 
roadless areas within the National Forest System; to the Committee on 
Energy and Natural Resources.
  Ms. CANTWELL. Mr. President, I rise along with Senators Bingaman, 
Harkin, Lautenberg, Boxer, Lieberman, Clinton, Menendez, Akaka, Dodd 
and Kerry to introduce the Roadless Conservation Act of 2006.
  Since Teddy Roosevelt established the national forest system 100 
years ago, we have cherished these amazing public lands. They have 
provided both timber for our economy, and quiet solace for our souls. 
However, only a fraction of the vast natural forests that once covered 
our nation remain. I believe it is our duty to protect these lands 
before we have no natural forest legacy to pass on to our children.
  Simply put, the Roadless Area Conservation Act of 2006 represents a 
balanced and reasoned approach to forest management on untouched public 
lands. This legislation reasserts safeguards in place in 2001 to 
protect our nation's the last remaining pristine forest lands, 58.5 
million acres, from logging, road-building, and other environmentally 
damaging development. In Washington State alone there are 2,015,000 
acres of National Forest system lands that qualify for protection as 
Roadless areas under the legislation.
  The bill would prohibit new road construction or reconstruction in 
inventoried roadless areas while maintaining opportunities for hunting, 
fishing, hiking, mountain-biking, snowmobiling, cross-country skiing 
and other forms of outdoor recreation in our National Forests.
  The legislation also includes a number of important exemptions to 
allow new road construction for human health and safety, oil and gas 
development, and other previously approved economic activities, such as 
ski trails.
  What is more, it allows for hazardous fuels reduction, forest 
stewardship projects, and targeted economic activities. This 
legislation also helps address the serious fiscal challenge presented 
by the more than $8.6 billion dollar maintenance and reconstruction 
backlog on the 386,000 miles of existing U.S. Forest Service roads.
  Of course, this might not sound new. And you'd be right. In many 
ways, we've travelled these roads before. The Clinton Administration 
finalized the Roadless Area Conservation Rule in January 2001, 
following three years of official review and public participation, over 
600 public meetings--45 public meetings in Washington state alone--and 
hearings on each National Forest and in each Forest Service region.
  During his confirmation hearing I asked Attorney General John 
Ashcroft if the administration would uphold the Roadless regulation. He 
pledged that he would. In May 2001, then-USDA Secretary Ann Venemen 
also pledged that the administration would stand by the Rule.
  But that's not what happened. Through a series of subtle yet 
unmistakable steps the administration has allowed these protections to 
be undermined steadily. They've rolled over for logging companies and 
developers. They've cooked up loopholes for State-based petitions or 
settlements that could weaken or eliminate the protections afforded to 
these unique lands. And finally, in May of 2005, they dropped the 
pretense altogether when the U.S.D.A. Forest Service repealed the 2001 
Roadless Area Conservation Rule, eliminating these vital roadless 
forest land protections.
  The need for action today is more urgent than ever. These are 
national forest lands that provide unmatched outdoor recreation 
opportunities, critical fish and wildlife habitats, and promote clean 
drinking water for millions of Americans. This bill would not apply or 
effect state, tribal, county, municipal, or private lands and does not 
impact existing U.S. Forest Service roads, trails, or activities on 
those roads and trails.
  The 2001 Roadless Rule has received unprecedented public support, 
including over four million comments submitted to the U.S. Forest 
Service asking that it not be overturned. Most recently, over 250,000 
Americans, including over 100 current and former Olympic athletes, have 
filed a formal petition under the Administrative Procedures Act (APA) 
to reverse the Bush Administration's decision to eliminate the 2001 
Rule. This legislation enjoys the support and endorsement of such 
groups as National Wildlife Federation, Trout Unlimited, the Heritage 
Forests Campaign, the Wilderness Society, and the Sierra Club.
  I've worked to protect these pristine forest lands since the day I 
came into office, and I'll keep fighting to make sure this bill gets 
signed into law. We've heard it loud and clear: Americans don't want to 
see their hunting, fishing, and hiking areas turned into a reckless 
patchwork of road-building, logging, and mining.
  Let's act today and pass the Roadless Conservation Act of 2006. The 
American people and future Americans deserve nothing less.
  I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the 
Record.
  There being no objection, the text of the bill was ordered to be 
printed in the Record, as follows:

                                S. 2364

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as the ``Roadless Area Conservation 
     Act of 2006''.

     SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.

       (a) In General.--Congress finds that--
       (1) there is a compelling need to establish national 
     protection for inventoried roadless areas of the National 
     Forest System in order to protect the unique social and 
     ecological values of those irreplaceable resources;
       (2) roadless areas protect healthy watersheds and their 
     numerous benefits including--
       (A) protecting downstream communities from floods and 
     tempering the effects of drought;
       (B) ensuring a supply of clean water for domestic, 
     agricultural, and industrial uses;
       (C) helping maintain abundant and healthy fish and wildlife 
     populations and habitats;
       (D) providing the setting for many forms of outdoor 
     recreation; and
       (E) providing drinking water to millions of citizens from 
     the more than 354 municipal watersheds found on roadless 
     areas;
       (3) maintaining roadless areas in a relatively undisturbed 
     condition--
       (A) saves downstream communities millions of dollars in 
     water filtration costs; and
       (B) is crucial to preserve the flow of affordable, clean 
     water to a growing population;
       (4) the protection of roadless areas can maintain 
     biological strongholds and refuges for many imperiled species 
     by halting the

[[Page S1656]]

     ongoing fragmentation of the landscape into smaller and 
     smaller parcels of land divided by road corridors;
       (5) roadless areas conserve native biodiversity by serving 
     as a bulwark against the spread of nonnative invasive 
     species;
       (6) roadless areas provide unparalleled opportunities for 
     hiking, camping, picnicking, wildlife viewing, hunting, 
     fishing, cross-country skiing, canoeing, mountain-biking, and 
     similar activities;
       (7) while roadless areas may have many wilderness-like 
     attributes, unlike wilderness areas, the use of mechanized 
     means of travel is allowed in many roadless areas;
       (8) roadless areas contain many sites sacred to Native 
     Americans and other groups that use roadless areas for 
     spiritual and religious retreats;
       (9) from the inception of Federal land management, it has 
     been the mission of the Forest Service and other agencies to 
     manage the National Forest System for the dual purposes of 
     resource extraction and conservation;
       (10) consistent with that dual mission, this Act--
       (A) protects social and ecological values, while allowing 
     for many multiple uses of inventoried roadless areas; and
       (B) does not impose any limitations on the use of, or 
     access to Nation Forest System, State, or private land 
     outside inventoried roadless areas;
       (11) establishing a consistent national policy for the 
     protection of inventoried roadless areas--
       (A) ensures that the considerable long-term ecological and 
     economic benefits of protecting roadless areas for future 
     generations are properly considered;
       (B) diminishes the likelihood of controversy at the project 
     level; and
       (C) enables the Chief of the Forest Service to focus on the 
     economic and environmental benefits of reducing hazardous 
     fuel buildups in portions of the landscape that already have 
     roads;
       (12) the National Fire Plan indicates that fires are almost 
     twice as likely to occur in roaded areas as in roadless 
     areas, because roadless areas are generally located further 
     away from communities and are harder to access;
       (13) the report entitled ``Protecting People and Sustaining 
     Resources in Fire-Adapted Ecosystems--A Cohesive Strategy'' 
     (65 Fed. Reg. 67480) advocates a higher priority for fuel 
     reduction on land that is near communities and readily 
     accessible municipal watersheds;
       (14) the Forest Service has an enormous backlog of 
     maintenance needs for the existing 386,000 mile road system 
     of the Forest Service that will cost millions of dollars to 
     eliminate;
       (15) no State or private land owner would continue to build 
     new roads in the face of such an enormous backlog;
       (16) failure to maintain forest roads--
       (A) limits public access; and
       (B) causes degradation of water quality and wildlife and 
     fish habitat; and
       (17) protection of roadless areas--
       (A) will impact less than 0.5 percent of the national 
     timber supply; and
       (B) will have a negligible impact on oil and gas production 
     because--
       (i) the entire National Forest System provides only 
     approximately 0.4 percent of the quantity of oil and gas that 
     is produced in the United States; and
       (ii) roadless areas provide only a fraction of the quantity 
     of oil and gas that is produced in the National Forest 
     System.
       (b) Purpose.--The purpose of this Act is to provide, within 
     the context of multiple-use management, lasting protection 
     for inventoried roadless areas within the National Forest 
     System.

     SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

       In this Act:
       (1) Classified road.--
       (A) In general.--The term ``classified road'' means a road 
     wholly or partially within, or adjacent to, National Forest 
     System land that is determined to be needed for long-term 
     motor vehicle access.
       (B) Inclusions.--The term ``classified road'' includes a 
     State road, county road, privately-owned road, National 
     Forest System road, and any other road authorized by the 
     Forest Service.
       (2) Inventoried roadless area.--The term ``inventoried 
     roadless area'' means 1 of the areas identified in the set of 
     inventoried roadless area maps contained in the document 
     entitled ``Forest Service Roadless Areas Conservation, Final 
     Environmental Impact Statement, Volume 2'', dated November 
     2000.
       (3) Responsible official.--The term ``responsible 
     official'' means a Forest Service line officer or employee 
     with the authority and responsibility to make decisions 
     regarding the protection and management of inventoried 
     roadless areas under this Act.
       (4) Road.--The term ``road'' means a motor vehicle 
     travelway over 50 inches wide, unless designated and managed 
     as a trail.
       (5) Road construction.--The term ``road construction'' 
     means activity that results in the addition of classified 
     road or temporary road miles.
       (6) Road improvement.--The term ``road improvement'' means 
     activity that results in--
       (A) an increase of the traffic service level of an existing 
     road;
       (B) an expansion of the capacity of the road; or
       (C) a change in the original design function of the road.
       (7) Roadless area characteristics.--The term ``roadless 
     area characteristics'' means resources or features that are 
     often present in and characterize inventoried roadless areas, 
     including--
       (A) high quality or undisturbed soil, water, and air;
       (B) sources of public drinking water;
       (C) diversity of plant and animal communities;
       (D) habitat for--
       (i) threatened, endangered, candidate, or sensitive 
     species, and species proposed for listing, under the 
     Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.); and
       (ii) species dependent on large, undisturbed areas of land;
       (E) primitive, semiprimitive nonmotorized, and 
     semiprimitive motorized classes of dispersed recreation;
       (F) reference landscapes;
       (G) natural appearing landscapes with high scenic quality;
       (H) traditional cultural properties and sacred sites; and
       (I) other locally identified unique characteristics.
       (8) Road maintenance.--The term ``road maintenance'' means 
     ongoing upkeep of a road necessary to retain or restore the 
     road in accordance with approved road management objectives.
       (9) Road realignment.--The term ``road realignment'' means 
     an activity that results in--
       (A) a new location of all or part of an existing road; and
       (B) treatment of the old roadway.
       (10) Road reconstruction.--The term ``road reconstruction'' 
     means an activity that results in improvement or realignment 
     of an existing classified road.
       (11) Temporary road.--The term ``temporary road'' means a 
     road that is--
       (A) authorized by contract, permit, lease, other written 
     authorization, or emergency operation; and
       (B) not intended to be part of the forest transportation 
     system and not necessary for long-term resource management.
       (12) Unclassified road.--The term ``unclassified road'' 
     means a road on National Forest System land that is not 
     managed as part of the forest transportation system, 
     including--
       (A) an unplanned road, abandoned travelway, or off-road 
     vehicle track that has not been designated and managed as a 
     trail; and
       (B) a road that was once under permit or other 
     authorization and was not decommissioned on the termination 
     of the authorization.

     SEC. 4. PROHIBITION ON ROAD CONSTRUCTION AND ROAD 
                   RECONSTRUCTION IN INVENTORIED ROADLESS AREAS.

       (a) Prohibition.--Except as provided in subsection (b), 
     road construction and road reconstruction may not take place 
     in an inventoried roadless area of the National Forest 
     System.
       (b) Exceptions.--Road construction and road reconstruction 
     may take place, including through the use of appropriated 
     funds, in an inventoried roadless area of the National Forest 
     System if the responsible official determines that--
       (1) a road is needed to protect public health and safety in 
     a case of an imminent threat of flood, fire, or other 
     catastrophic event that, without intervention, would cause 
     the loss of life or property;
       (2) a road is needed to conduct--
       (A) a response action under the Comprehensive Environmental 
     Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C. 
     9601 et seq.); or
       (B) a natural resource restoration action under--
       (i) that Act;
       (ii) section 311 of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act 
     (33 U.S.C. 1321); or
       (iii) the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (33 U.S.C. 2701 et 
     seq.);
       (3) a road is needed pursuant to a reserved or outstanding 
     right, or as provided for by law or treaty;
       (4) a road realignment is needed--
       (A) to prevent irreparable resource damage that arises from 
     the design, location, use, or deterioration of a classified 
     road that cannot be mitigated by road maintenance; and
       (B) to provide for essential public or private access, 
     natural resource management, or public health or safety;
       (5) road reconstruction is needed to implement a road 
     safety improvement project on a classified road determined to 
     be hazardous on the basis of accident experience or accident 
     potential with respect to the road;
       (6)(A) a Federal-aid highway project authorized under 
     chapter 1 of title 23, United States Code, is--
       (i) in the public interest; or
       (ii) consistent with the purposes for which the land was 
     reserved or acquired; and
       (B) no other reasonable and prudent alternative to the 
     project exists; or
       (7)(A) a road is needed in conjunction with--
       (i) the continuation, extension, or renewal of a mineral 
     lease on land that is under lease by the Secretary of the 
     Interior as of January 12, 2001; or
       (ii) the issuance of a new lease issued immediately on the 
     date of expiration of an existing lease described in clause 
     (i);
       (B) road construction or road reconstruction under this 
     paragraph will be conducted in a manner that--

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       (i) minimizes the effects on surface resources;
       (ii) prevents unnecessary or unreasonable surface 
     disturbance; and
       (iii) complies with all applicable laws (including 
     regulations), lease requirements, and land and resource 
     management plan directives; and
       (C) a road constructed or reconstructed under this 
     paragraph will be removed on the earlier of--
       (i) the date on which the road is no longer needed for the 
     purposes of the lease; or
       (ii) the date of termination or expiration of the lease.
       (c) Road Maintenance.--A classified road in an inventoried 
     roadless area may be maintained.

     SEC. 5. PROHIBITION ON TIMBER CUTTING, SALE, OR REMOVAL IN 
                   INVENTORIED ROADLESS AREAS.

       (a) Prohibition.--Except as provided in subsection (b), 
     timber may not be cut, sold, or removed in an inventoried 
     roadless area of the National Forest System.
       (b) Exceptions.--Timber may be cut, sold, or removed in an 
     inventoried roadless area if the responsible official 
     determines that the cutting, sale, or removal of the timber 
     is expected to be infrequent and--
       (1) the cutting, sale, or removal of generally small 
     diameter timber--
       (A) will improve or maintain 1 or more roadless area 
     characteristics; and
       (B) is needed--
       (i) to improve habitat for threatened, endangered, 
     candidate, or sensitive species, and species proposed for 
     listing, under the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 
     1531 et seq.); or
       (ii) to maintain or restore the characteristics of 
     ecosystem composition and structure, such as to reduce the 
     risk of uncharacteristic wildfire effects, within the range 
     of variability that would be expected to occur under a 
     natural disturbance regime of the current climatic period;
       (2) the cutting, sale, or removal of timber is incidental 
     to the implementation of a management activity not otherwise 
     prohibited by this Act;
       (3) the cutting, sale, or removal of timber is needed and 
     appropriate for personal or administrative use, in accordance 
     with part 223 of title 36, Code of Federal Regulations; or
       (4) roadless characteristics have been substantially 
     altered in a portion of an inventoried roadless area as a 
     result of the construction of a classified road and 
     subsequent timber harvest, if--
       (A) the road construction and subsequent timber harvest 
     occurred after the area was designated an inventoried 
     roadless area and before January 12, 2001; and
       (B) timber is cut, sold, or removed only in the 
     substantially altered portion of the inventoried roadless 
     area.

     SEC. 6. SCOPE AND APPLICABILITY.

       (a) Effect.--This Act does not--
       (1) revoke, suspend, or modify any permit, contract, or 
     other legal instrument authorizing the occupancy and use of 
     National Forest System land issued or entered into before 
     January 12, 2001;
       (2) compel the amendment or revision of any land and 
     resource management plan;
       (3) revoke, suspend, or modify any decision concerning any 
     project or activity made before January 12, 2001; or
       (4) apply to road construction, reconstruction, or the 
     cutting, sale, or removal of timber in an inventoried 
     roadless area of the Tongass National Forest if a notice of 
     availability of a draft environmental impact statement for 
     such activity has been published in the Federal Register 
     before January 12, 2001.
       (b) Limitation on Revision.--The prohibitions and 
     restrictions established in this Act are not subject to 
     reconsideration, revision, or rescission in any subsequent 
     project decision or amendment or revision to any land and 
     resource management plan carried out in accordance with 
     section 6 of the Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources 
     Planning Act of 1974 (16 U.S.C. 1604).

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