,i #aafth ,,congress #ast ,session ,h4 ,r4 #bdia ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of ,,representatives ,may #b1 #bjai,mr4 ,gallego 7for himself1 ,ms4 ,haaland1 ,ms4 ,gabbard1 ,ms4 ,moore1 ,ms4 ,schakowsky1 ,ms4 ,jayapal1 ,mr4 ,krishnamoorthi1 ,mr4 ,huffman1 ,mr4 ,raskin1 ,mr4 ,pappas1 ,ms4 ,eshoo1 ,mr4 ,soto1 ,mr4 ,bishop of ,georgia1 ,mr4 ,schiff1 ,ms4 ,ocasio-,cortez1 ,ms4 ,del,bene1 ,mr4 ,cohen1 ,mrs4 ,kirkpatrick1 ,mr4 ,blumenauer1 ,mr4 ,tonko1 ,mr4 ,sires1 ,mr4 ,mc,govern1 ,ms4 ,velzquez1 ,mr4 ,casten of ,illinois1 ,mr4 ,price of ,north ,carolina1 ,ms4 ,roybal-,allard1 ,mr4 ,khanna1 ,mr4 ,foster1 ,mr4 ,pocan1 ,mr4 ,lowenthal1 ,mr4 ,neguse1 ,ms4 ,brownley of ,california1 ,mr4 ,grijalva1 ,mr4 ,carbajal1 ,mrs4 ,dingell1 ,ms4 ,de,gette1 and ,mr4 ,case7 introduced the following bill2 which was referred to the ,committee on ,agriculture1 and in addition to the ,committee on ,natural ,resources1 for a period to be subsequently determined by the ,speaker1 in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned ,a ,,bill ,to provide lasting protection for inventoried roadless areas within the ,national ,forest ,system4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,roadless ,area ,conservation ,act of #bjai4 #b4 ,findings and purpose 7a7 ,in general ,congress finds that-- 7#a7 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 resources2 7#b7 roadless areas protect healthy watersheds and the numerous benefits of healthy watersheds1 which include-- 7,a7 providing the setting for many forms of outdoor recreation2 7,b7 ensuring a supply of clean water for domestic1 agricultural1 and industrial uses2 7,c7 providing drinking water to tens of millions of citizens of the ,united ,states2 and 7,d7 helping maintain abundant and healthy fish and wildlife populations and habitats2 7#c7 maintaining roadless areas in a relatively undisturbed condition-- 7,a7 saves downstream communities millions of dollars in water filtration costs2 and 7,b7 is crucial to preserve the flow of affordable1 clean water to a growing population2 7#d7 the protection of roadless areas can maintain biological strongholds and refuges for many imperiled species by halting the ongoing fragmentation of the landscape into smaller and smaller parcels of land divided by road corridors2 7#e7 roadless areas conserve native biodiversity by serving as a bulwark against the spread of nonnative invasive species2 7#f7 roadless areas provide important backcountry fish and game habitat1 creating opportunities for hunting and commercial and sport fishing2 7#g7 roadless areas provide unparalleled opportunities for outdoor recreation1 including hiking1 camping1 picnicking1 wildlife viewing1 hunting1 fishing1 cross-country skiing1 canoeing1 mountain-biking1 and similar activities2 7#h7 while roadless areas may have many wilderness-like attributes1 unlike wilderness areas1 the use of mechanized means of travel is allowed in many roadless areas2 7#i7 roadless areas contain many sites sacred to ,native ,americans1 ,alaska ,natives1 and other groups that use roadless areas for spiritual and religious practices and access1 including customary and traditional uses and activities2 7#aj7 from the inception of ,federal land management1 the mission of the ,forest ,service has been to manage the ,national ,forest ,system for multiple uses1 including resource utilization1 conservation1 and other uses2 7#aa7 consistent with the multiple-use mission described in paragraph 7#aj71 this ,act-- 7,a7 ensures the continued protection of social and ecological values1 while allowing for many multiple uses of inventoried roadless areas2 and 7,b7 does not impose any new limitations on-- 7i7 inventoried roadless areas2 or 7ii7 the use of1 or access to1 ,national ,forest ,system1 ,state1 or private land outside inventoried roadless areas2 7#ab7 enacting a law for the protection of inventoried roadless areas-- 7,a7 provides additional reliability to areas with recreation-based economies that depend on public land without roads for jobs1 revenue1 and consumer spending2 and 7,b7 encourages forest managers to continue giving priority to conducting fuel reduction treatments in the areas in which the treatments will have the most impact2 7#ac7 wildfires are almost twice as likely to occur in roaded areas as in roadless areas1 because roadless areas are generally located further away from communities and are harder to access2 7#ad7 the ,forest ,service has an enormous backlog of maintenance needs for the existing #cga1eha-mile road system of the ,forest ,service that will cost #c1bjj1jjj1jjj to eliminate2 and 7#ae7 continued protection of roadless areas will continue to allow for the development of hydropower projects4 7b7 ,purpose ,the purpose of this ,act is to provide1 within the context of multiple-use management1 lasting protection for inventoried roadless areas within the ,national ,forest ,system4 #c4 ,definitions ,in this ,act3 7#a7 ,inventoried roadless area ,the term inventoried roadless area means any area in which road construction1 road reconstruction1 or logging is subject to regulation under the ,roadless ,rule4 7#b7 ,roadless ,rule ,the term ,roadless ,rule means part #bid of title #cf1 ,code of ,federal ,regulations1 as adopted on ,january #ab1 #bjja1 and modified for ,idaho on ,october #af1 #bjjh1 and for ,colorado on ,july #c1 #bjab1 and ,december #ai1 #bjaf4 7#c7 ,secretary ,the term ,secretary means the ,secretary of ,agriculture1 acting through the ,chief of the ,forest ,service4 #d4 ,protection of inventoried roadless areas ,the ,secretary shall not allow road construction1 road reconstruction1 or logging in an inventoried roadless area where those activities are prohibited by the ,roadless ,rule4