Sponsor
Harriet Hageman
Representative · R-WY
Representative · R-WY
The bill protects and clarifies management for large areas of public land—boosting wilderness conservation, recreation, and planning certainty—while restricting certain development (notably renewable and surface mineral projects), shifting some access rights, and creating new management costs and transparency trade‑offs.
Residents, visitors, and nearby communities gain new permanent protections and managed areas (roughly 100,000+ acres across wilderness and special management areas), preserving scenic, wildlife, and non‑motorized recreation values.
Local, state, and federal land managers get clearer rules, mapped boundaries, defined agency roles, and deadlines (e.g., travel management plans and reporting requirements) that make land-use decisions and coordination more predictable.
Nearby residents, adjacent landowners, and local governments get stronger authority and direction for wildfire, insect, and disease management and emergency response to better protect lives and property.
Local and regional renewable energy siting and transmission options are constrained by prohibitions and limits on new wind, solar, and transmission leases or rights‑of‑way in multiple designated areas.
Workers and companies in extractive and leasing industries lose surface-access mineral, geothermal, and some leasing opportunities in conserved areas, reducing potential local revenue and jobs.
Some local residents, ranchers, and recreationists will lose motorized access or see restricted access in newly designated areas, and new designations may trigger conflicts between motorized and non‑motorized user groups.
Based on analysis of 10 sections of legislative text.
Designates wilderness and conservation areas, establishes special management and motorized-recreation areas, releases parts of WSAs, directs studies and travel/fire management plans, and requires land-exchange actions.
Official title: To redesignate land within certain wilderness study areas in the State of Wyoming, and for other purposes.
Introduced February 21, 2025 by Harriet Hageman · Last progress February 21, 2025
Creates and manages new protected and special-use federal areas in Wyoming while studying and providing for motorized recreation in select counties. It designates five wilderness areas, establishes conservation and special management areas (including a motorized recreation area), releases certain Wilderness Study Area (WSA) lands from WSA protections, directs land management rules (including withdrawals from mining and leasing), requires travel management plans and fire/grazing provisions, and orders studies and local coordination (including land exchanges) with required reports to Congress within two years.