Wild Olympics Wilderness and Wild and Scenic Rivers Act

This bill protects more of Washington’s Olympic Peninsula by adding about 126,000 acres in the Olympic National Forest to the National Wilderness Preservation System. It names new wilderness areas and adds land to existing ones, and also sets aside about 5,300 acres as “potential wilderness” that would become full wilderness once any conflicting uses end. The Forest Service will manage these areas, can act to control fire, insects, and disease, and must make maps available to the public. The designations do not create buffer zones around wilderness boundaries, so normal activities next to these areas can continue even if seen or heard from inside them .

It also adds protections to many river stretches in and around Olympic National Forest and Olympic National Park by naming them as wild, scenic, or recreational rivers. This helps keep rivers free-flowing and supports habitat restoration and species recovery. The Forest Service and National Park Service will update their land and resource plans within three years (or five years if they request more funding) to reflect these changes. The law keeps existing private rights in place and withdraws designated river lands from new mining and mineral leasing. It also confirms that Tribal treaty rights are not changed by this act .

• Who is affected: local communities, Tribes, visitors, and people who work or recreate in the Olympic National Forest and Park .
• What changes: new and expanded wilderness areas; many river segments protected as wild, scenic, or recreational; stronger safeguards for habitat and clean water; no new mining on designated river lands; no buffer zones around wilderness .
• When: protections take effect upon enactment; forest plans updated within 3 years (or 5 with a funding request); potential wilderness converts after nonconforming uses end .