Northern Rockies Ecosystem Protection Act of 2025

Summary

Designates large tracts of federal land across Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington, and Wyoming as wilderness, adds 55 river segments to the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System, creates roughly 2.9 million acres of biological connecting corridors, and establishes about 1,023,000 acres of wildland recovery areas. It forbids new road construction, commercial timber harvest, and most extraction in corridors and many designated areas, requires restoration work in recovery areas, reserves federal water rights needed to meet conservation goals, and sets up multiagency monitoring, scientific review, and tribal protections. Implementation includes plans and reports due within three years and authority for voluntary land acquisitions and cooperative agreements with private, state, and tribal landowners.

• Creates large new and expanded wilderness areas across five Western states and incorporations into the National Wilderness Preservation System.
• Adds 55 river segments in Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming to the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System.
• Designates about 2.9 million acres as biological connecting corridors with strict limits on roads, mining, and timber harvest.
• Establishes roughly 1,023,000 acres of wildland recovery areas with required restoration plans and measurable recovery criteria.
• Requires multiagency monitoring, a satellite-based GIS, and an independent scientific report on implementation within three years.
• Preserves federal water rights and directs the United States to protect and, where appropriate, quantify those rights in state adjudications.
• Protects tribal access and confidentiality for cultural and religious sites and preserves tribal rights and trust responsibilities.
• Authorizes voluntary land acquisitions, exchanges, and cooperative agreements to achieve corridor integrity, but does not compel private landowners.