Sponsors (2)
The bill secures expanded environmental protections, water quality, tribal access, and clearer federal management (benefiting recreationists, downstream users, and tribes) while imposing land‑use limits, regulatory constraints, and budget/administrative costs that may affect timber economies, local flexibility, and public budgets.
Rural communities, recreationists, and anglers will see expanded and clarified protections for rivers, streams, wetlands, lakes and other aquatic resources—preserving fish habitat, scenic access, and riparian values across the affected landscape.
Downstream users and residents will benefit from maintained or improved water quality because protections of riparian zones and designated river segments limit development and help preserve clean water.
Indigenous and tribal communities will retain clarified protections and gain a formal requirement that the Secretary seek MOUs to allow tribal access for cultural activities and traditional gathering.
Timber-dependent businesses, landowners, and nearby communities will face new or stricter limits on development, timber harvest, road-building, and some recreational/commercial uses along protected river segments and inventoried waters.
Taxpayers and federal budgets could face higher costs because the Secretary is authorized to purchase lands and implement expanded protections, which may require appropriations or divert funding from other programs.
State and local officials and residents may lose some local flexibility as applying the Roadless Rule, Northwest Forest Plan provisions, and Wild & Scenic designations can lock in federal constraints on certain land‑management and access choices.
Based on analysis of 3 sections of legislative text.
Amends the Smith River recreation-area law to update maps/boundaries, require a 5-year study and plan protections, and add/reclassify Wild and Scenic river segments administered by the Forest Service.
Official title: To amend the Smith River National Recreation Area Act to include certain additions to the Smith River National Recreation Area, to amend the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act to designate certain wild rivers in the State of Oregon, and for other purposes.
Introduced August 26, 2025 by Val Hoyle · Last progress August 26, 2025
Expands and updates the Smith River National Recreation Area law, revising map citations and boundary language, clarifying management rules (including roadless and wilderness treatment), and requiring a five-year study of proposed additions with protections added to management plans. It also adds and reclassifies multiple river segments on the North Fork Smith River and adjusts classifications for the Smith River and Rowdy Creek, placing those river segments into the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System administered by the Secretary of Agriculture.