Sponsor
Troy Downing
Representative · R-MT
Representative · R-MT
The bill shifts certain wilderness-study lands into standard Forest Service/BLM management to enable local access, economic uses, and active land management, but it does so at the cost of reducing the chance for permanent wilderness protections and increasing risks of habitat degradation and local conflict.
Rural communities and small businesses can pursue economic uses (timber, grazing, recreation development) on the acres removed from wilderness-study status (notably ~104,000 acres), enabling local economic activity consistent with existing land-use plans.
Rural residents, recreationists, and sportsmen gain improved public access and recreation opportunities on specific areas (Middle Fork Judith, Hoodoo Mountain, Wales Creek) and the released lands as managers implement existing plans.
Federal and local land managers and governments get clearer, more certain management authority by placing these lands under recently adopted Forest Service and BLM plans, which can reduce administrative uncertainty and streamline decisionmaking.
People who value permanent wilderness protections (recreationists, local communities) lose the possibility of future formal wilderness designation on the affected WSA parcels (including the ~104,000 acres released and other WSAs referenced), reducing long-term wilderness preservation options.
Nearby residents and recreation users face a greater risk that permitted activities (motorized use, development, timbering, grazing) will degrade habitat, scenic values, and the character of public lands.
Some local residents and constituencies may view the expanded access and multiple-use management (including motorized access or resource development) as harmful to otherwise pristine public lands, creating community tensions.
Based on analysis of 3 sections of legislative text.
Removes three Montana WSAs from wilderness-review rules and requires management under existing Forest Service or BLM land-use plans for ~103,960 acres.
Removes three specific Montana wilderness study areas from statutory wilderness-review requirements and directs those lands to be managed under existing Forest Service and BLM land and resource management plans. The change releases about 103,960 acres (approximately 81,000 acres Middle Fork Judith; 11,380 Hoodoo Mountain; 11,580 Wales Creek) from special wilderness-study status so managers will treat them under standard multiple‑use resource plans to improve access, sporting opportunities, habitat work, and wildfire mitigation. The bill does not create new funding; it changes the legal status and required management regime for the named study areas so the relevant agencies manage them under their most recent land-use plans rather than as wilderness study areas awaiting congressional designation.
Official title: To release from wilderness study area designation certain land in the State of Montana, to improve the management of that land, and for other purposes.
Introduced December 17, 2025 by Troy Downing · Last progress December 17, 2025