Sponsors
Introduced May 13, 2025 by Emily Randall · Last progress May 13, 2025
The bill secures lasting protections for significant lands and rivers and clarifies management and rights, but does so by restricting resource development and increasing administrative and infrastructure constraints that could harm local economies and require greater agency coordination and costs.
Residents, recreationists, rural communities, and wildlife gain long-term protection for large tracts of land and river segments (including ~126,554 acres of designated wilderness, ~5,346 acres of potential wilderness, and newly designated wild/scenic river segments), preserving recreation, habitat, and enabling river and species restoration projects.
Adjacent communities, state and local governments, and federal land managers get clearer management direction and legal clarity through federal designations, mapped legal descriptions, and required updated management plans, improving long-term coordination and planning.
Tribal members and private landowners/small businesses retain treaty-protected hunting, fishing, gathering, cultural practices, and existing property/contract rights, preventing unintended loss of cultural or commercial interests.
Local workers, businesses, and rural economies face reduced access to public lands and curtailed development opportunities (timber, mining, geothermal, and some recreation), risking job losses and lower local income and lease opportunities.
Property owners, utilities, and local governments may face higher costs or obstacles for rights-of-way, infrastructure projects, and reduced options for federal land disposal, complicating local development and service delivery.
The Forest Service and taxpayers may incur higher administrative and planning costs (including meeting a 3-year planning deadline), potentially diverting agency resources and delaying other projects.
Based on analysis of 5 sections of legislative text.
Adds ~126,554 acres in Olympic National Forest to the Wilderness System, designates multiple Wild and Scenic river segments in Washington, withdraws those lands from many mining/leasing laws, and preserves tribal and private rights.
Designates about 126,554 acres in the Olympic National Forest as new wilderness areas or additions, creates roughly 5,346 acres of potential wilderness to be added later when nonconforming uses end, and adds multiple river segments in Washington (including the Elwha, Dungeness, Big Quilcene and others) to the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System with specified classifications and managing agencies. The law preserves existing private rights and State land management, withdraws the newly designated lands and river segments from many forms of mining and leasing (subject to valid existing rights), and explicitly preserves tribal treaty rights to hunt, fish, gather, and practice cultural or religious activities.