Sponsors (9)
Official title: 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.
Introduced March 27, 2025 by Sheldon Whitehouse · Last progress March 27, 2025
The bill trades broad, long-term conservation of millions of acres, improved water and ecosystem health, and stronger tribal protections — with benefits for recreation and climate resilience — against reduced extractive-use opportunities, limits on motorized access and grazing, potential conflicts with local control, and increased federal costs and water‑allocation complexities.
Residents, visitors, and nearby communities gain large-scale, permanent wilderness and habitat protections across much of the Northern Rockies (millions of acres), conserving landscapes, biodiversity, and long-term ecosystem function.
Downstream communities, municipalities, farmers, and fisheries benefit from stronger watershed protections and restored headwaters that improve water quality, reduce erosion, and support fish passage.
Local economies, outfitters, and tourism-linked businesses gain expanded recreation and scenic opportunities (hiking, hunting, wildlife viewing) from newly designated wilderness, rivers, and protected areas that can support outdoor tourism.
Workers, small businesses, and counties that rely on timber, mining, oil & gas, and other extractive uses face reduced activity and revenue as many areas are closed to development or new extraction.
State and local governments, landowners, and communities could lose planning and land‑use control as expanded federal protections and definitions limit permitted uses and create conflicts with existing local/state plans.
Ranchers, motorized-recreation users, emergency responders, and some residents may lose or face restricted access because of grazing retirements, motorized access limits, road removals, and strict road‑density rules.
Based on analysis of 26 sections of legislative text.
Designates large tracts of Northern Rockies federal land as wilderness, corridors, rivers, and recovery areas, restricting roads and extractive uses while preserving federal water rights.
Designates large swaths of federal lands across Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington, and Wyoming as wilderness, wild and scenic rivers, biological connecting corridors, and wildland recovery areas and sets new management rules to protect habitat, water quality, and landscape connectivity. The law restricts new roads, most timber harvesting, mining, oil and gas development, and other development in designated areas; creates restoration mandates and monitoring systems; preserves federal water rights; and includes measures to protect tribal access and confidential cultural information.