Sponsors (14)
Official title: 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.
Introduced March 27, 2025 by Madeleine Dean · Last progress March 27, 2025
The bill prioritizes broad, long-term conservation—protecting watersheds, biodiversity, recreation, tribal access, and ecosystem resilience—at the expense of reduced extractive opportunities, new restrictions on some local uses (grazing/motorized access), and increased federal management and implementation costs.
Residents, downstream communities, and wildlife benefit from large-scale, long-term protections (wilderness, roadless lands, river segments, corridors) that preserve water quality, habitat, biodiversity, and contribute to carbon storage and climate resilience.
Local economies and small businesses that depend on outdoor recreation (hunting, fishing, hiking, tourism) gain more stable and higher-quality opportunities from protected scenic lands and restored natural areas.
Tribes gain clearer protection of treaty rights, formalized consultation/input in management, confidential handling of sacred-site information, and preserved access for cultural and religious practices.
Timber, mining, oil & gas, and other extractive industries — and the communities and workers tied to them — will face reduced access and opportunities when large areas are restricted, risking job losses and lower local revenues.
Federal costs (management, restoration, monitoring, land acquisition, legal defense) and associated taxpayer spending are likely to rise to implement, steward, and enforce the new protections and programs.
Ranchers, permit holders, and residents who rely on motorized access (grazing, ATVs, some hunting, maintenance) face restrictions or phased- out uses on designated lands, reducing income and recreational choices for local people.
Based on analysis of 26 sections of legislative text.
Creates dozens of new wilderness areas, wild and scenic river segments, biological corridors, and wildland recovery areas across five Western states and sets strict limits on roads and extractive development in corridors.
Designates large areas of National Forest, National Park, and BLM lands across Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington, and Wyoming as new or expanded wilderness, wild and scenic rivers, biological connecting corridors, and wildland recovery areas to protect ecosystem integrity, species habitat (including ESA-listed species), water quality, and outdoor recreation. It prohibits new road construction and many extractive activities in corridors, sets limits on road density, requires restoration plans and monitoring, preserves tribal access and federal water rights, and directs interagency coordination and scientific oversight to guide implementation.