Northern Rockies Ecosystem Protection Act

II 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 1531 To designate certain National Forest System land and certain public land under the jurisdiction of the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture 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 MAY 10, 2023 Mr. WHITEHOUSE (for himself, Mr. BLUMENTHAL, Mr. BOOKER, Mr. DUR- BIN, Ms. HASSAN, Ms. HIRONO, Mr. MARKEY, Mr. MENENDEZ, Mr. SANDERS, Mrs. SHAHEEN, Ms. STABENOW, and Ms. WARREN) intro- duced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Com- mittee 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 and the Secretary of Agriculture in the States of Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington, and Wy- oming 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 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:38 May 19, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1531.IS S1531 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 2 •S 1531 IS SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 1 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 2 ‘‘Northern Rockies Ecosystem Protection Act’’. 3 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 4 this Act is as follows: 5 Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. Sec. 2. Findings. Sec. 3. Purposes. Sec. 4. Definitions. TITLE I—DESIGNATION OF WILDERNESS Sec. 101. Purpose. Sec. 102. Greater Glacier/Northern Continental Divide ecosystem. Sec. 103. Greater Yellowstone ecosystem. Sec. 104. Greater Salmon/Selway ecosystem. Sec. 105. Greater Cabinet-Yaak-Selkirk ecosystem. Sec. 106. Greater Hells Canyon ecosystem. Sec. 107. Islands in the Sky Wilderness. Sec. 108. Wilderness in biological connecting corridors. Sec. 109. Administration. Sec. 110. Water. Sec. 111. Donation of grazing permits and leases. TITLE II—BIOLOGICAL CONNECTING CORRIDORS Sec. 201. Findings. Sec. 202. Designation of biological connecting corridors. Sec. 203. Treatment of biological connecting corridors. Sec. 204. Applicability of title. Sec. 205. Cooperative agreements and land trades and acquisitions. Sec. 206. Exemption of certain roads and highways. TITLE III—WILD AND SCENIC RIVERS DESIGNATIONS Sec. 301. Designation of wild and scenic rivers in Idaho, Montana, and Wyo- ming. TITLE IV—WILDLAND RESTORATION AND RECOVERY Sec. 401. Definitions. Sec. 402. Restoration and recovery. Sec. 403. Management. TITLE V—IMPLEMENTATION AND MONITORING Sec. 501. Implementation report. Sec. 502. Interagency team. Sec. 503. Roadless land evaluation. TITLE VI—EFFECT OF ACT ON INDIAN TRIBES VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:38 May 19, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6211 E:\BILLS\S1531.IS S1531 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 3 •S 1531 IS 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. 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 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:38 May 19, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1531.IS S1531 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 4 •S 1531 IS gered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et 1 seq.); 2 (C) is national interest public land that is 3 among the most popular wildland in the United 4 States; and 5 (D) embraces greater ecosystems and na- 6 tional treasures such as the Greater Yellow- 7 stone, Greater Glacier/Northern Continental Di- 8 vide, Greater Hells Canyon/Wallowa, Greater 9 Salmon/Selway, and Greater Cabinet-Yaak-Sel- 10 kirk ecosystems; 11 (3) the natural ecosystems in the Northern 12 Rockies Bioregion are largely dependent on— 13 (A) public land; and 14 (B) the ecological productivity and diver- 15 sity of resources on public land; 16 (4) conservation of roadless areas on public 17 land— 18 (A) produces clean water; 19 (B) protects native fisheries and native 20 flora and fauna; 21 (C) provides scenic and recreational quali- 22 ties; and 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:38 May 19, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1531.IS S1531 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 5 •S 1531 IS (D) preserves options for sustainable eco- 1 nomics through activities such as hunting, fish- 2 ing, and wilderness-based recreation; 3 (5) the headwaters of several major river sys- 4 tems, including the Columbia, Snake, Green, Mis- 5 souri, and Saskatchewan Rivers, are in the Northern 6 Rockies Bioregion and the water of those rivers— 7 (A) flows to 3 oceans; 8 (B) is of economic importance to farming 9 and ranching operations, municipal water sup- 10 plies, and water-based recreation, including 11 fishing and boating; and 12 (C) if protected, will enhance the uses de- 13 scribed in subparagraph (B), reduce costs for 14 water treatment and irrigation, and increase 15 native fish populations; 16 (6) the wildlife treasures of the Northern Rock- 17 ies Bioregion are of international significance and 18 contain intact, large mammalian fauna and rare and 19 unique plant life; 20 (7) wildlife habitat fragmentation due to road 21 building, timber harvesting, mining, oil and gas ex- 22 ploration, lack of interagency cooperation, and other 23 activities has severe effects on— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:38 May 19, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1531.IS S1531 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 6 •S 1531 IS (A) the wildlife populations of the North- 1 ern Rockies Bioregion (including populations of 2 species listed as threatened or endangered 3 under the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 4 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.)) and the habitats of the 5 wildlife; and 6 (B) the water quality, ancient forests, and 7 greater ecosystems of the Northern Rockies 8 Bioregion; 9 (8) the overemphasis on resource extraction 10 from public land has— 11 (A) compromised ecosystem integrity and 12 detracted from economic diversification oppor- 13 tunities; and 14 (B) resulted in economic instability and 15 high unemployment in rural, resource-depend- 16 ent communities; 17 (9) the fragmentation and development of the 18 remaining roadless and essentially roadless eco- 19 systems and biological connectors of the Northern 20 Rockies Bioregion would cause a loss to the United 21 States of— 22 (A) an entire wildland region; and 23 (B) the only remaining area in the United 24 States south of Canada that can support popu- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:38 May 19, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1531.IS S1531 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 7 •S 1531 IS lations of gray wolves, grizzly bears, anad- 1 romous fish, and other rare or endangered 2 plant or animal life in 1 intact bioregion; 3 (10) since the completion of the 1936 roadless 4 area inventory by Bob Marshall, millions of acres of 5 roadless wildland have been developed in the North- 6 ern Rockies Bioregion; 7 (11) extensive fragmentation of wildland and 8 wildlife habitat has— 9 (A) resulted in the listing of several species 10 as threatened or endangered under the Endan- 11 gered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et 12 seq.); and 13 (B) reduced the number and range of 14 other species, including anadromous fish; 15 (12) the natural ecosystems of the Northern 16 Rockies Bioregion serve as educational and research 17 centers for onsite studies in biology, geology, astron- 18 omy, and other sciences; 19 (13) the pristine nature of public land helps 20 local communities attract new residents and busi- 21 nesses based on local quality of life; 22 (14) a review of the situation in the Northern 23 Rockies Bioregion as of the date of enactment of 24 this Act has revealed the urgent need for an ecologi- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:38 May 19, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1531.IS S1531 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 8 •S 1531 IS cal reserve system for the Northern Rockies Bio- 1 region that includes core ecosystem reserve areas 2 and biological connecting corridors necessary— 3 (A) to ensure wildlife movements and ge- 4 netic interchange between the core reserve 5 areas; and 6 (B) to act as carbon reserves in a warming 7 world; 8 (15) wildlife freedom of movement is essential 9 to the survival of wildlife species, and a number of 10 scientific studies have identified movement corridors 11 as necessary for wildlife conservation in a changing 12 climate; 13 (16) several foreign governments, including the 14 governments of Australia and Scotland, have an- 15 nounced plans for corridors that would make wildlife 16 movement possible as climate pressures increase; 17 (17) the concept of connective corridors for 18 wildlife movement— 19 (A) has been endorsed by the Governors of 20 States in the western United States; and 21 (B) is recognized by conservation and sci- 22 entific organizations, such as the National 23 Academy of Sciences, which, in 2008, described 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:38 May 19, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1531.IS S1531 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 9 •S 1531 IS freedom of movement for wildlife as basic to the 1 emerging new science of movement ecology; 2 (18) freedom of wildlife movement— 3 (A) was a fundamental reason for the de- 4 velopment and introduction of this Act; and 5 (B) has become an increasingly high-pro- 6 file issue in the climate and biological sciences; 7 (19) the economic value to the United States of 8 most of the public land, left in its natural state, ex- 9 ceeds any potential return to the Treasury of the 10 United States from timber harvest and development; 11 (20) if Federal land management in the North- 12 ern Rockies Bioregion continues to result in develop- 13 ment in roadless areas, the Federal Government will 14 be using tax revenues to fund permanent reductions 15 in wilderness, water quality, fish and wildlife habi- 16 tat, species, and biological diversity; 17 (21) this Act— 18 (A) provides opportunities for employment 19 in outdoor trades by establishing rehabilitation 20 zones on specific tracts of damaged Federal 21 land where active restoration work will occur; 22 (B) will provide contracts for local busi- 23 nesses; and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:38 May 19, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1531.IS S1531 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 10 •S 1531 IS (C) will renew the intrinsic economic, so- 1 cial, and cultural benefits that result from pro- 2 ductive land; 3 (22) Federal land rehabilitation projects— 4 (A) have direct benefits to local economies; 5 and 6 (B) reduce the loss to taxpayers in the 7 United States caused by below-cost timber sales 8 and other subsidized resource extraction; 9 (23) a congressional review of roadless areas 10 within public land identifies— 11 (A) areas that, on the basis of the land 12 form, ecosystem, associated fish and wildlife, 13 economic value, and location of the areas, will 14 help to fulfill the role of the Forest Service, Na- 15 tional Park Service, and Bureau of Land Man- 16 agement to ensure a quality National Wilder- 17 ness Preservation System; 18 (B) areas that may have value as wild and 19 scenic rivers; and 20 (C) areas that— 21 (i) may not possess wilderness at- 22 tributes and should not now be designated 23 as components of the National Wilderness 24 Preservation System; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:38 May 19, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1531.IS S1531 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 11 •S 1531 IS (ii) should be studied to determine the 1 role of the areas in maintaining biological 2 diversity in the Northern Rockies Bio- 3 region; 4 (24) many areas of public land— 5 (A) have been damaged and experienced a 6 reduction in productivity due to unwise develop- 7 ment practices, which have also impaired eco- 8 system function and biological diversity, such as 9 the Island Park area adjacent to Yellowstone 10 National Park, which contains large clear-cut 11 areas that border the park boundary; and 12 (B) should be returned to the former eco- 13 logical health and native diversity of the areas 14 through efforts— 15 (i) to ensure that vital ecosystem com- 16 ponents are restored, especially in areas in 17 which wildlife travel corridors and native 18 fish and wildlife populations have been 19 damaged or eliminated; and 20 (ii) to ensure and maintain genetic 21 interchange, biological diversity, and res- 22 toration of native species diversity through- 23 out the Northern Rockies Bioregion; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:38 May 19, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1531.IS S1531 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 12 •S 1531 IS (25) backcountry areas of the National Park 1 System have been damaged by inappropriate man- 2 agement, despite policies that require that rec- 3 ommended wilderness be administered as wilderness; 4 (26) an emphasis on structures and motorized 5 equipment, and in some instances developed 6 backcountry campsites, in backcountry areas of the 7 National Park System has detracted from and de- 8 graded the wilderness character of those 9 backcountry areas; 10 (27) Federal agencies entrusted with managing 11 the natural resources of the Northern Rockies Bio- 12 region— 13 (A) operate under contradictory congres- 14 sional mandates; and 15 (B) are in dissension over management 16 policies that involve common resources and 17 greater ecosystems; 18 (28) Fed [Text truncated for display. 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