Nate Roadless Test 2

Purpose and Need for the Proposed Action Given changing resource conditions and shifts in policy priorities, the Department believes that the “one-size-fits-all” approach to roadless area management under the 2001 Roadless Rule is no longer appropriate and proposes to use local land management planning processes to administer inventoried roadless areas. Rescinding the 2001 Roadless Rule would provide discretion for local land managers to tailor management, as appropriate, to local land conditions. Under the current Administration, the USDA has refocused policies, programs, and resources on increasing rural economic opportunity, decreasing Federal regulation, and streamlining Federal government services. Specifically, this deregulatory action is proposed pursuant to Executive Order 14192, Unleashing Prosperity Through Deregulation, to alleviate unnecessary regulatory burdens. In Executive Order 14225, Immediate Expansion of American Timber Production, and Executive Order 14154, Unleashing American Energy, the President declared that the United States' national and economic security are currently threatened by our Nation's reliance upon foreign timber, energy and mineral production, and that it is imperative for the United States to take immediate action to facilitate domestic production of these natural resources to the maximum possible extent. As such, USDA is examining regulations that pose undue burden on production of the Nation's timber and identification, development, and use of domestic energy and mineral resources. This action is also being proposed in accordance with Executive Order 14153, Unleashing Alaska's Extraordinary Resource Potential, section 3(c), which directs that the Secretary of Agriculture “shall reinstate” the 2020 Alaska Roadless Rule (85 FR 68688) which exempted the Tongass National Forest from the 2001 Roadless Rule. As resource conditions and policies have evolved over time, it is now evident that the blanket, national approach taken in the 2001 Roadless Rule unnecessarily and adversely limits exercise of management discretion. The flexibility to respond to local land and resource conditions is paramount. Conditions within and adjacent to National Forest System lands have dramatically changed over the twenty-four years since the 2001 Roadless Rule was published and are expected to continue to change, including the expanding wildland-urban interface; growing impacts of extreme wildfire, drought, and insect and disease infestations; and continuing deferred maintenance needs on National Forest System roads and trails. Management flexibility is needed for the Agency to achieve its multiple use conservation mission, including timber production, recreation, wildfire suppression, and fuel reduction treatments. These needs are magnified by the emphasis on domestic timber and energy production on Federal lands and deregulation policies reflected in Executive Orders 14192, 14225, 14154, as well as Secretary's Memorandum 1078-006, Increasing Timber Production and Designating an Emergency Situation on National Forest System Lands. The USDA is cognizant that the President's recent Orders have significantly changed the context in which the USDA Forest Service administers these lands for the benefits of all Americans. Local decision making and active land management benefit not only the communities that rely on national forests for jobs, natural resources, open spaces, forage, and clean water, but all citizens who utilize the multiple use attributes of national forests. Given these national policy priorities and changing conditions, the Department has determined the 2001 Roadless Rule is no longer the best approach to managing inventoried roadless areas within the National Forest System. Managing inventoried roadless areas to maintain their roadless character through a national rule no longer facilitates the maintenance of the long-term health and productivity. A national rule adds administrative burden and does not efficiently support multiple use management of National Forest System lands. This action seeks to reinstate a reliance upon the flexibility of the local land management planning process. The proposed rule responds to the need for national forests to take swift and immediate action to reduce wildfire risk and help protect surrounding communities and infrastructure. It would allow local managers, as deemed appropriate and consistent with land management plans, to build roads and implement active forest management practices (for example, timber sales and thinning) in inventoried roadless areas. Combined with the complex social and resource issues, the litigation and legislative history surrounding inventoried roadless area conservation demonstrates that while differences in opinion seem inevitable, various active management options responding to changing local land conditions are available where needed. Land management plans and Agency directives provide a comprehensive framework with respect to inventoried roadless area decision making. Eliminating a cumbersome national level oversight process and returning authority to the local decisionmakers provides for efficiency as well as effectiveness for resource conservation. The important resource values of inventoried roadless areas can be effectively conserved through local decision making and planning without restrictive and unnecessary national prohibitions. Preliminary Description of Proposed Action The USDA proposes to rescind the 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule (66 FR 3244, 36 CFR Subpart B (2001)) on 44.7 million acres, including the Tongass National Forest, but maintain state-specific roadless conservation rules for Idaho and Colorado (36 CFR Subparts C and D). As directed by Executive Order 14153: Unleashing Alaska's Extraordinary Resource Potential, the proposed rule will expressly exclude the Tongass National Forest from the 2001 Roadless Rule. If adopted, management of inventoried roadless areas would be governed by applicable land management plan direction. The proposed action would rescind the prohibitions set forth in the 2001 Roadless Rule. Local land management planning, guided by public input and information on land conditions, would provide the basis for conservation of inventoried roadless areas. The proposed rule would not compel amendment or revision of any land management plan, though plans may be amended in any manner whatsoever, and are revised periodically (16 U.S.C. 1604(f)). The proposed rescission of the 2001 Roadless Rule would not authorize any specific ground-disturbing activities or projects, nor does it propose any increase in the overall amount of timber harvested or roads constructed; require any timber harvest or road construction; or dictate when, where, or how such activities may occur in the future. These decisions are left to the local officials through site-specific analysis and evaluation of land and resource conditions and would be consistent with applicable plan provisions. The proposed rule would not alter existing regulatory requirements for environmental analysis, public engagement, or administrative review.