Bill would codify Roadless Rule, which protects almost 60 million acres of America’s remaining pristine National Forest Lands WASHINGTON – Today, Senators Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) and Maria Cantwell (D-WA), along with Representatives Yassamin Ansari (AZ-03) and Andrea Salinas (OR-06) introduced the Roadless Area Conservation Act to finally enshrine the U.S. Forest Service’s Roadless Rule protections into law.   For nearly a quarter century, the Roadless Rule has shielded 58.5 million acres of the most pristine and treasured areas within the National Forest System from roadbuilding and logging. In Arizona, the Rule protects 1,174,000 acres of Inventoried roadless Areas (IRAs). “For decades, the Roadless Rule has been protecting over 1 million acres of forest in Arizona –

WASHINGTON — As fire season stretches into a yearlong struggle for communities across the West, Senator Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) and Representative Joe Neguse (CO-02) introduced a package of bills to improve wildfire prevention, mitigation, and management.   “As Arizona’s wildfire seasons get longer and wildfire landscapes evolve, it is vital we have the research and coordination tools to ensure effective mitigation and management,” said Senator Gallego. “These bills will improve the working relationship between federal agencies and with their state, local, and tribal counterparts. Wildfires don’t care about jurisdictional boundaries, and these bills reflect that.” “During my time in Congress, Colorado has experienced four of the five largest wildfires in our

WASHINGTON – Senators Ruben Gallego (D-AZ), John Cornyn (R-TX), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), and Bernie Moreno (R-OH) introduced the bipartisan Special District Fairness and Accessibility Act, which would codify a formal definition of “special district” to ensure that Arizonans receive access to essential services. “Special districts provide essential services like fire protection, water, and transportation, but because they don’t have an official definition, they often cannot get the same federal support as other local governments,” said Senator Gallego. “I’m proud to support this bill to finally define special districts so they can access the resources for services that millions of Arizonans rely on.” While special districts are already intended to be eligible for