Sponsors (2)
Introduced February 20, 2025 by John A. Barrasso · Last progress February 20, 2025
The bill secures and manages large tracts of public land—boosting conservation, recreation, and local stewardship—while trading off extractive and some renewable development opportunities, creating mixed local economic effects and adding management costs and localized impacts from designated motorized uses.
Rural communities and visitors gain permanent protection for a very large amount of public land (≈116,000+ acres across multiple designations), preserving habitat, scenic values, and intact watersheds.
Local economies and outdoor recreation businesses benefit because protected landscapes plus new managed recreation areas support nature-based tourism and sustained recreation opportunities.
Residents and motorized users get new designated motorized recreation areas and travel-management planning (including boundary fencing in places), providing organized access and clearer vehicle routes that should reduce some conflicts.
Broad restrictions on mining, geothermal, new roads, and other extractive activities across multiple designated areas will reduce potential local jobs, royalties, and government revenue.
The bill releases some wilderness study areas for oil and gas leasing while prohibiting or restricting renewables in other places—this combination increases local pollution and traffic risks from fossil development and biases outcomes toward fossil fuels over new clean-energy projects.
Designated motorized recreation areas and expanded vehicle access can produce more noise, dust, erosion, and user conflicts, degrading quality of life for nearby residents and some wildlife habitat.
Based on analysis of 10 sections of legislative text.
Designates five new wilderness areas, creates a national conservation area, seven special management areas, and a small motorized recreation area on Bureau of Land Management (BLM) lands in Wyoming; releases portions of several wilderness study areas for other uses and sets site-specific rules for resource use, energy leasing, and travel. It also directs the Interior to study and plan for new motorized recreation opportunities in specified counties, require travel and fire-management plans on new and adjusted lands, authorize targeted land exchanges, and establish a county implementation team to advise on local management.