Washington, DC – Today, the House Committee on Natural Resources passed out of markup the Restoring Our Unopened Trails for Enjoyment and Safety (ROUTES) Act (H.R. 6994), which is led by U.S. Representatives Young Kim (CA-40) and Doug LaMalfa (CA-01) to prioritize, streamline, and improve maintenance of federal trails, roads, campgrounds, and recreation sites damaged by certain natural disasters.
The ROUTES Act requires National Forest trails, roads, campgrounds, and recreation sites damaged and closed by natural disasters like wildfires to be restored and reopened within two years of the disaster. To meet this deadline, certain actions to restore these sites – such as renovating trails and removing hazard trees – would not be subject to an environmental assessment that can take years to complete.
Natural Resources Federal Lands Subcommittee Chairman Tom Tiffany (WI-07) is an original cosponsor.
“Significant shortages of staff and resources make our Forest Service Rangers’ jobs harder as they work around the clock to manage forests and protect public safety,” said Congresswoman Young Kim, who represents the Cleveland National Forest Trabuco District. “The ROUTES Act would help federal land management partners prioritize resources for National Forest trails, roads, and other sites that may have been damaged by wildfires for public use and recreation. The recent Airport Fire’s impact on Cleveland National Forest sites underscores the need for this commonsense bill, and I thank the House Natural Resources Committee for passing it out of markup. I’ll always fight for the needs of our CA-40 communities.”
“This legislation ensures trails and recreation areas damaged by natural disasters are restored quickly and reopened safely. It’s about cutting red tape, holding agencies accountable, and keeping our public lands open for everyone to enjoy. Big thanks to Rep. Kim for her work on this, I’m hopeful we can get this bill passed before the end of the year,” said Congressman Doug LaMalfa.
