Northern Rockies Ecosystem Protection Act

II 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 827 To designate certain National Forest System land and certain public land under the jurisdiction of the Secretary of the Interior in the States of Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington, and Wyoming as wilderness, wild and scenic rivers, wildland recovery areas, and biological connecting corridors, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES MARCH 14, 2019 Mr. WHITEHOUSE (for himself, Mr. DURBIN, Mr. MENENDEZ, Ms. STABE- NOW, and Mr. MARKEY) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources A BILL To designate certain National Forest System land and cer- tain public land under the jurisdiction of the Secretary of the Interior in the States of Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington, and Wyoming as wilderness, wild and scenic rivers, wildland recovery areas, and biological connecting corridors, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 3 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 4 ‘‘Northern Rockies Ecosystem Protection Act’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:32 Mar 29, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S827.IS S827 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 •S 827 IS (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents of 1 this Act is as follows: 2 Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. Sec. 2. Findings. Sec. 3. Purposes. Sec. 4. Definitions. TITLE I—DESIGNATION OF WILDERNESS Sec. 101. Purpose. Sec. 102. Greater Glacier/Northern Continental Divide ecosystem. Sec. 103. Greater Yellowstone ecosystem. Sec. 104. Greater Salmon/Selway ecosystem. Sec. 105. Greater Cabinet/Yaak/Selkirk ecosystem. Sec. 106. Greater Hells Canyon ecosystem. Sec. 107. Islands in the Sky wilderness. Sec. 108. Wilderness in biological connecting corridors. Sec. 109. Administration. Sec. 110. Water. TITLE II—BIOLOGICAL CONNECTING CORRIDORS Sec. 201. Findings. Sec. 202. Designation of biological connecting corridors. Sec. 203. Treatment of biological connecting corridors. Sec. 204. Applicability of title. Sec. 205. Cooperative agreements and land trades and acquisitions. Sec. 206. Exemption of certain roads and highways. TITLE III—WILD AND SCENIC RIVERS DESIGNATIONS Sec. 301. Designation of wild and scenic rivers in Idaho, Montana, and Wyo- ming. TITLE IV—WILDLAND RESTORATION AND RECOVERY Sec. 401. Definitions. Sec. 402. Restoration and recovery. Sec. 403. Management. TITLE V—IMPLEMENTATION AND MONITORING Sec. 501. Implementation report. Sec. 502. Interagency team. Sec. 503. Roadless land evaluation. TITLE VI—EFFECT OF ACT ON INDIAN TRIBES Sec. 601. Rights of Indian tribes. Sec. 602. Federal trust responsibility. Sec. 603. Exemption from Freedom of Information Act. Sec. 604. Application of Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act. Sec. 605. Tribal use of protected areas. VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:32 Mar 29, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6211 E:\BILLS\S827.IS S827 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 •S 827 IS TITLE VII—EFFECT OF ACT ON WATER RIGHTS Sec. 701. Water rights. SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 1 Congress finds that— 2 (1) many areas of undeveloped National Forest 3 System land, National Park System land, and public 4 land administered by the Bureau of Land Manage- 5 ment in the States of Idaho, Montana, Oregon, 6 Washington, and Wyoming (referred to in this sec- 7 tion as ‘‘public land’’)— 8 (A) possess outstanding natural character- 9 istics that give the areas value as wildernesses, 10 parks, or wild and scenic rivers; and 11 (B) if properly preserved, will be an endur- 12 ing resource as wildernesses and wildland areas 13 and of biodiversity for the benefit of the people 14 of the United States; 15 (2) the Northern Rockies Bioregion— 16 (A) contains the most diverse array of 17 wildland that remains in the United States 18 south of Canada; 19 (B) provides a sanctuary for species listed 20 as threatened or endangered under the Endan- 21 gered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et 22 seq.); 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:32 Mar 29, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S827.IS S827 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 4 •S 827 IS (C) is national interest public land that is 1 among the most popular wildland in the United 2 States; and 3 (D) embraces greater ecosystems and na- 4 tional treasures such as the Greater Yellow- 5 stone, Greater Glacier/Northern Continental Di- 6 vide, Greater Hells Canyon/Wallowa, Greater 7 Salmon/Selway, and Greater Cabinet/Yaak/Sel- 8 kirk ecosystems; 9 (3) the natural ecosystems in the Northern 10 Rockies Bioregion are largely dependent on— 11 (A) public land; and 12 (B) the ecological productivity and diver- 13 sity of resources on public land; 14 (4) conservation of roadless areas on public 15 land— 16 (A) produces clean water; 17 (B) protects native fisheries and native 18 flora and fauna; 19 (C) provides scenic and recreational quali- 20 ties; and 21 (D) preserves options for sustainable eco- 22 nomics through activities such as hunting, fish- 23 ing, and wilderness-based recreation; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:32 Mar 29, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S827.IS S827 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 5 •S 827 IS (5) the headwaters of several major river sys- 1 tems, including the Columbia, Snake, Green, Mis- 2 souri, and Saskatchewan Rivers, are in the Northern 3 Rockies Bioregion, and the water of those rivers— 4 (A) flows to 3 oceans; 5 (B) is of economic importance to farming 6 and ranching operations, municipal water sup- 7 plies, and water-based recreation, including 8 fishing and boating; and 9 (C) if protected, will enhance the uses de- 10 scribed in subparagraph (B), reduce costs for 11 water treatment and irrigation, and increase 12 native fish populations; 13 (6) the wildlife treasures of the Northern Rock- 14 ies Bioregion are of international significance and 15 contain intact, large mammalian fauna and rare and 16 unique plant life; 17 (7) wildlife habitat fragmentation due to road 18 building, timber harvesting, mining, oil and gas ex- 19 ploration, lack of interagency cooperation, and other 20 activities has severe effects on— 21 (A) the wildlife populations of the North- 22 ern Rockies Bioregion (including populations of 23 species listed as threatened or endangered 24 under the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:32 Mar 29, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S827.IS S827 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 6 •S 827 IS U.S.C. 1531 et seq.)) and the habitats of the 1 wildlife; and 2 (B) the water quality, ancient forests, and 3 greater ecosystems of the Northern Rockies 4 Bioregion; 5 (8) the overemphasis on resource extraction 6 from public land has— 7 (A) compromised ecosystem integrity and 8 detracted from economic diversification oppor- 9 tunities; and 10 (B) resulted in economic instability and 11 high unemployment in rural, resource-depend- 12 ent communities; 13 (9) the fragmentation and development of the 14 remaining roadless and essentially roadless eco- 15 systems and biological connectors of the Northern 16 Rockies Bioregion would cause a loss to the United 17 States of— 18 (A) an entire wildland region; and 19 (B) the only remaining area in the United 20 States south of Canada that can support popu- 21 lations of caribou, gray wolves, grizzly bears, 22 anadromous fish, and other rare or endangered 23 plant or animal life in 1 intact bioregion; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:32 Mar 29, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S827.IS S827 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 7 •S 827 IS (10) since the completion of the 1936 roadless 1 area inventory by Bob Marshall, millions of acres of 2 roadless wildland have been developed in the North- 3 ern Rockies Bioregion; 4 (11) extensive fragmentation of wildland and 5 wildlife habitat has— 6 (A) resulted in the listing of several species 7 as threatened or endangered under the Endan- 8 gered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et 9 seq.); and 10 (B) reduced the number and range of 11 other species, including anadromous fish; 12 (12) the natural ecosystems of the Northern 13 Rockies Bioregion serve as educational and research 14 centers for onsite studies in biology, geology, astron- 15 omy, and other sciences; 16 (13) the pristine nature of public land helps 17 local communities attract new residents and busi- 18 nesses based on local quality of life; 19 (14) a review of the situation in the Northern 20 Rockies Bioregion as of the date of enactment of 21 this Act has revealed the urgent need for an ecologi- 22 cal reserve system for the Northern Rockies Bio- 23 region that includes core ecosystem reserve areas 24 and biological connecting corridors necessary to en- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:32 Mar 29, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S827.IS S827 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 8 •S 827 IS sure wildlife movements and genetic interchange be- 1 tween the core reserve areas; 2 (15) wildlife freedom of movement is essential 3 to the survival of wildlife species, and a number of 4 scientific studies have identified movement corridors 5 as necessary for wildlife conservation in a changing 6 climate; 7 (16) several foreign governments, including the 8 governments of Australia and Scotland, have an- 9 nounced plans for corridors that would make wildlife 10 movement possible as climate pressures increase; 11 (17) the concept of connective corridors for 12 wildlife movement— 13 (A) has been endorsed by the Governors of 14 States in the western United States; and 15 (B) is recognized by conservation and sci- 16 entific organizations, such as the National 17 Academy of Sciences, which, in 2008, described 18 freedom of movement for wildlife as basic to the 19 emerging new science of movement ecology; 20 (18) freedom of wildlife movement— 21 (A) was a fundamental reason for the de- 22 velopment and introduction of this Act; and 23 (B) has become an increasingly high-pro- 24 file issue in the climate and biological sciences; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:32 Mar 29, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S827.IS S827 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 9 •S 827 IS (19) the economic value to the United States of 1 most of the public land, left in its natural state, ex- 2 ceeds any potential return to the Treasury of the 3 United States from timber harvest and development; 4 (20) if Federal land management in the North- 5 ern Rockies Bioregion continues to result in develop- 6 ment in roadless areas, the Federal Government will 7 be using tax revenues to fund permanent reductions 8 in wilderness, water quality, fish and wildlife habi- 9 tat, species, and biological diversity; 10 (21) this Act— 11 (A) provides opportunities for employment 12 in outdoor trades by establishing rehabilitation 13 zones on specific tracts of damaged Federal 14 land where active restoration work will occur; 15 (B) will provide contracts for local busi- 16 nesses; and 17 (C) will renew the intrinsic economic, so- 18 cial, and cultural benefits that result from pro- 19 ductive land; 20 (22) Federal land rehabilitation projects— 21 (A) have direct benefits to local economies; 22 and 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:32 Mar 29, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S827.IS S827 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 10 •S 827 IS (B) reduce the loss to taxpayers in the 1 United States caused by below-cost timber sales 2 and other subsidized resource extraction; 3 (23) a congressional review of roadless areas 4 within public land identifies— 5 (A) areas that, on the basis of the land 6 form, ecosystem, associated fish and wildlife, 7 economic value, and location of the areas, will 8 help to fulfill the role of the Forest Service, Na- 9 tional Park Service, and Bureau of Land Man- 10 agement to ensure a quality National Wilder- 11 ness Preservation System; 12 (B) areas that may have value as wild and 13 scenic rivers; and 14 (C) areas that— 15 (i) may not possess wilderness at- 16 tributes and should not now be designated 17 as components of the National Wilderness 18 Preservation System; and 19 (ii) should be studied to determine the 20 role of the areas in maintaining biological 21 diversity in the Northern Rockies Bio- 22 region; 23 (24) many areas of public land— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:32 Mar 29, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S827.IS S827 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 11 •S 827 IS (A) have been damaged and experienced a 1 reduction in productivity due to unwise develop- 2 ment practices, which have also impaired eco- 3 system function and biological diversity, such as 4 the Island Park area adjacent to Yellowstone 5 National Park, which contains large clear-cut 6 areas that border the park boundary; and 7 (B) should be returned to the former eco- 8 logical health and native diversity of the areas 9 through efforts— 10 (i) to ensure that vital ecosystem com- 11 ponents are restored, especially in areas in 12 which wildlife travel corridors and native 13 fish and wildlife populations have been 14 damaged or eliminated; and 15 (ii) to ensure and maintain genetic 16 interchange, biological diversity, and res- 17 toration of native species diversity through- 18 out the Northern Rockies Bioregion; 19 (25) backcountry areas of the National Park 20 System have been damaged by inappropriate man- 21 agement, despite policies that require that rec- 22 ommended wilderness be administered as wilderness; 23 (26) an emphasis on structures and motorized 24 equipment, and in some instances developed 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:32 Mar 29, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S827.IS S827 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 12 •S 827 IS backcountry campsites, in backcountry areas of the 1 National Park System has detracted from and de- 2 graded the wilderness character of those 3 backcountry areas; 4 (27) Federal agencies entrusted with managing 5 the natural resources of the Northern Rockies Bio- 6 region— 7 (A) operate under contradictory congres- 8 sional mandates; and 9 (B) are in dissension over management 10 policies that involve common resources and 11 greater ecosystems; 12 (28) Federal agency structures and regulatory 13 mechanisms as of the date of enactment of this Act 14 have proven unsatisfactory for the responsible man- 15 agement of nationally important ecosystems on pub- 16 lic land; 17 (29) Federal laws and regulations as of the 18 date of enactment of this Act have not been suffi- 19 cient to establish [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]