To designate certain National Forest System land and certain public land under the jurisdiction of the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture in the States of Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington, and Wyoming as wilderness, wild and scenic rivers, wildland recovery areas, and biological connecting corridors, and for other purposes.
Sponsors
Legislative Progress
IntroducedMs. Dean of Pennsylvania (for herself, Ms. Meng, Mr. Cohen, …
Summary
What This Bill Does
The Northern Rockies Ecosystem Protection Act would designate approximately 23 million acres of federal land in Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington, and Wyoming as wilderness. It also creates 2.9 million acres of biological connecting corridors to allow wildlife movement between ecosystems, designates over 1 million acres as wildland recovery areas for ecological restoration, and adds rivers to the Wild and Scenic Rivers System.
Who Benefits and How
Conservation organizations and wilderness advocates would see major wins with the largest wilderness designation in the lower 48 states. Outfitters, guides, hunting and fishing businesses, and wilderness recreation operators would benefit from expanded protected lands attracting visitors. Indian Tribes would gain guaranteed access to protected areas for traditional cultural and religious practices, plus potential contracting opportunities for land management. Ecological restoration contractors would see new revenue from recovery area work.
Who Bears the Burden and How
Timber companies across the Northern Rockies would lose access to millions of acres currently available for logging on National Forests. Mining companies would face barriers to developing claims in newly protected areas. Oil and gas companies would be blocked from exploration and drilling on designated wilderness and roadless lands. Ski resort developers would be prohibited from expanding into wilderness areas. Road construction companies would lose federal contracts for road-building in protected zones. Federal agencies including the Forest Service, BLM, and National Park Service would face increased management responsibilities and compliance requirements.
Key Provisions
- Designates wilderness areas in five major ecosystems: Greater Yellowstone, Greater Glacier, Greater Salmon/Selway, Greater Cabinet-Yaak-Selkirk, and Greater Hells Canyon
- Creates biological connecting corridors to enable wildlife movement and genetic connectivity between ecosystems
- Establishes wildland recovery areas requiring restoration of native vegetation, removal of invasive species, and return to roadless condition
- Reserves federal water rights for wilderness areas with priority date as of enactment
- Exempts private lands from corridor requirements while allowing voluntary participation
- Protects tribal sacred sites from FOIA disclosure and ensures tribal access for traditional purposes
- Prohibits road construction, timber harvesting, mining, and oil/gas drilling on all roadless lands over 1,000 acres after scientific evaluation
Evidence Chain:
This summary is derived from the structured analysis below. See "Detailed Analysis" for per-title beneficiaries/burden bearers with clause-level evidence links.
Primary Purpose
To designate approximately 23 million acres of National Forest System land, National Park System land, and Bureau of Land Management land in Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington, and Wyoming as wilderness and components of the National Wilderness Preservation System, establish biological connecting corridors, designate wild and scenic rivers, and create wildland recovery areas.
Policy Domains
Legislative Strategy
"Comprehensive wilderness protection and ecosystem connectivity in the Northern Rockies through large-scale land designations, wildlife corridor establishment, and ecological restoration."
Likely Beneficiaries
- Conservation organizations
- Wildlife and endangered species
- Outdoor recreation industry (hunting, fishing, wilderness-based recreation)
- Indian Tribes with treaty rights in the region
- Downstream water users (municipalities, farmers, boaters)
- Ecological research and educational institutions
Likely Burden Bearers
- Timber industry and logging companies
- Mining companies
- Oil and gas extraction industry
- Ski resort developers and operators
- Road construction companies
- Federal land management agencies (increased administrative requirements)
- Some rural resource-dependent communities
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
- "secretary_concerned"
- → Secretary of Agriculture (for National Forest land) or Secretary of the Interior (for National Park and BLM land)
- "the_secretary"
- → Secretary concerned (Agriculture for National Forest, Interior for BLM/NPS)
- "secretary_of_interior"
- → Secretary of the Interior
- "secretary_of_agriculture"
- → Secretary of Agriculture
- "the_secretary"
- → Secretary of the Interior
- "secretary_of_interior"
- → Secretary of the Interior
- "secretary_of_agriculture"
- → Secretary of Agriculture
- "the_secretary"
- → Secretary of Agriculture (National Forest) or Secretary of the Interior (BLM)
- "secretary_of_agriculture"
- → Secretary of Agriculture
- "the_secretary"
- → Secretary of Agriculture
- "chief_forest_service"
- → Chief of the Forest Service
- "secretaries_concerned"
- → Secretary of Agriculture and Secretary of the Interior
- "the_secretary"
- → Secretary of Agriculture or Secretary of the Interior
Note: 'The Secretary' varies by title: In Title IV it refers to Secretary of Agriculture; in Title II it refers to Secretary of the Interior; in other titles it refers to the 'Secretary concerned' which depends on whether land is National Forest (Agriculture) or BLM/NPS (Interior).
Key Definitions
Terms defined in this bill
The physical, chemical, and biological properties that are used by fish, wildlife, or plants for growth, reproduction, survival, food, water, and cover on a tract of land, in a body of water, or in an area or region.
An area that provides connectivity of habitat or potential habitat, and that facilitates the ability of terrestrial, estuarine, and freshwater fish, or wildlife, to move within a landscape as needed for migration, gene flow, or dispersal; or in response to the impacts of climate change or other impacts.
The restoration of the natural, untrammeled condition of the land; or the undeveloped, roadless character of the land.
An activity that eliminates the roadless and wilderness characteristics of the land on which the activity takes place. Includes the construction or operation of a ski resort facility, road building, timber harvesting, mining, and oil and gas drilling.
Has the meaning given the term public lands in section 103 of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1702).
Any area designated as a wildland recovery area by section 402(a).
An ecological land unit of sufficient scale to support and maintain populations of large vertebrate species and the other native plant and animal species of the unit; and comprised of land that is similar in topography, climate, and plant and animal species or contiguous with the habitat of a wildlife indicator species listed as threatened or endangered.
The Secretary of Agriculture, with respect to National Forest System land; and the Secretary of the Interior, with respect to National Park System land and public land.
The portion of the Northern Rocky Mountains in the States of Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, Oregon, and Washington.
We use a combination of our own taxonomy and classification in addition to large language models to assess meaning and potential beneficiaries. High confidence means strong textual evidence. Always verify with the original bill text.
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